


Season Two

by RosalindHawkins



Series: Rock Bottom [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Abusive Parents, Angst, Angstshipping - Freeform, Arranged Marriage, Attempted Murder, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Love, Death, Duel Monsters, Duelling, Egypt, F/M, Family, Fire, First Crush, Friendship, Ghosts, Hospitalization, I'm On A Blimp, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, KaibaCorp, Kidnapping, M/M, Miscarriage, Murder, Prophetic Visions, Puppyshipping?, Scars, Soulmates, Stitches, Teen Angst, Wintershipping - Freeform, tornshipping - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-24 05:55:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8359819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosalindHawkins/pseuds/RosalindHawkins
Summary: What if Seto and Mokuba still lived with their father? What if Joey's parents never got divorced? What if Ryou's mother and sister hadn't died? What if Noah Kaiba hadn't been hit by a car? What if Marik never killed his father? What if Priest Seth's soul had been sealed away in the Millennium Rod?A total rewrite of canon events based on these premises, focused on character psychology and gritty alternatives to the clean dubbed anime. Season Two includes the Battle City Tournament and the introduction of the Millennium Necklace.





	1. Genesis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every reference to time ("Twelve years ago," etc.) is in relation to the current place in time in the story, which is almost a week from where we left off in S1.
> 
> As far as Ishizu's life (and all the Ishtars) goes, I incorporated a lot of sad-but-true things about both modern and ancient Egypt to make it both realistic and angsty.

_Sixteen years ago..._

"I love you, my children," the dying woman whispered as she lay on her death bed, a ghostly smile on her face. "Rishid, protect your brother and sister."

"I will," her adoptive son promised with a nod, trying not to cry. He could sense what was about to happen.

"Ishizu," she whispered, calling the attention of her dark-haired daughter. "Tell Marik that I love him."

"Is that the baby's name, Mother?" the little girl asked, but she didn't get an answer. "Mother? Mother?" Ishizu reached out to her mother's still-warm body, but Rishid grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the fresh corpse. As his sister started to cry, Rishid pulled her close and hushed her. He was crying too, though, and his tears were not at all assuaged when their father returned to the room, his newborn son cradled in his arms.

"She's gone, Father. She's gone." Rishid tried to speak steadily, but he was only a child witnessing death for the first time. Their patriarch shook his head disapprovingly, then turned to hand the wailing infant to a young woman standing behind him, his younger sister in law. He walked forward to pull the sheet covering his wife over her face to cover her completely. Meanwhile, Ishizu wept inconsolably with grief.

What was she supposed to do without a mother?

* * *

_Ten years ago..._

Ishizu waited for her father to leave the room before lifting her face from the floor. She wiped at her wet eyes with a dirty hand and started gathering the pieces of the crudely fashioned wax tablet she'd made for herself. She wanted to read and write, and if her father wasn't going to teach her, then she was going to teach herself.

That was still her desire, even though her father had destroyed her tool for doing so and instructed her to dissemble it and put its parts to a practical use. She wouldn't have made it if she'd known that he would be so angry. The broken shards were cradled in her arm as she used her other hand to grab the edge of her bed and pull herself to her feet.

He'd never punished her so harshly before.

As she sat on the edge of her hard bed, she winced. Just the act of sitting down hurt. What she didn't yet know was that her father's blows had been strong enough to bruise her rear.

She would obey him, of course. She always obeyed her father as best she could. Every now and then, she fell short of his expectations and he would discipline her as he saw fit, but she never _tried_ to disappoint him or go behind is back. She had gotten curious about the images and symbols that her little brother was being taught to draw and understand, so she decided to pursue education on her own.

Now she understood that had been a mistake.

After hours spent (over the course of several days) siphoning off candle wax and scrounging together bits of wood just the right size and shape for the frame, then making wooden pegs and finding a piece of slate on which she could spread the wax, then finally piecing them all together with her limited skills—it felt like all of her hard work had gone to waste, which, functionally, was true. She wiped her dusty hands on the skirt of her tunic before using them to brush away the tears that threatened to fall. It wasn't enough, though, so she stopped fighting the urge to cry. She stood again and set the pieces in a shallow basket on the floor, one of the ones she'd woven that very day.

The men of their clan were the only ones allowed outside to roam the world above. They gathered food and materials while the women cooked the food they brought, tended to the children they fathered, and worked with the materials they provided.

She already did those things, to some degree, but she was dissatisfied with that. It was true that all of them contributed in some indirect way to the preservation of the pharaoh's legacy, but only the patriarch's family knew and carried the memories and secrets of the nameless pharaoh. Unfortunately for Marik, their father was that patriarch and _he_ would inherit that role when their father passed away. Marik was kept cloistered away as he was being educated by their father with Rishid's protective presence at his back at all times. Ishizu loved her brothers, but she didn't get to see them nearly as much as she wished she could. She missed her mother. Maybe if her mother were still alive, she wouldn't feel so alone.

She resolved to follow out her father's orders tomorrow. It was late now, and she would be going to sleep soon, and there was no point in wasting candlelight to do it now. She needed to fetch fresh water for her room before she slept, though, so she couldn't go to sleep just yet.

She left her room with the water jug she kept beside her bed, creeping through empty halls. Someone had already gone through and snuffed out every other torch along the passageway. She passed the altar-room on her way there, still fighting tears as lonely thoughts chased each other in circles around her mind. She was just passing the holy room when she thought she heard someone call out her name. The voice was familiar and made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Mother?" Too afraid of looking foolish, she didn't dare to raise her voice above a whisper.

"Come, Ishizu." The voice was soft and warm and maternal, and it came from within a room that she was almost never allowed to enter. Ishizu paused, but the pull of the command was too strong for her to disobey. With slow movements, she slipped the flats off her feet, set the water jug on the floor by her shoes, and entered the holy room. Torches and incense were burning in this room at all times, making the air thick and fragrant and smoky. This was also the only room with an opening in the ceiling—to let the excess smoke out. A pair of torches flanked the altar at the front of the room where the two Millennium Items rested, awaiting the return of the pharaohs. The Millennium Necklace and the Millennium Rod, made of solid gold, glistened even in the half-light of the dim room. The absence of any person inside the room surprised Ishizu more than anything else.

She was starting to feel embarrassed, as if she'd been tricked by her own mind, and was about to turn back when the smoke curling into the air from the burning incense started to shimmer and take a human shape.

Ishizu gasped, eyes wide, as the faint spirit of a smiling woman with kind eyes appeared in spirit form, beckoning to the child with one hand.

"Come, Ishizu," she called again, and the ever obedient Ishizu, in a daze, did as she was told. She approached the altar slowly, hardly able to believe her own eyes and ears. She hesitated at the base of the raised dais that elevated the altar, looking down at the floor. This was holy ground. She wasn't supposed to be here at all. She wasn't worthy.

"Ishizu, it is time that you know your inheritance."

The only Ishtar daughter looked from her feet to the phantom and hesitantly stepped forward, ever closer to the glittering eyes of the two Millennium Items her family had protected for millennia.

"What is your name?" Ishizu whispered, lifting her eyes to those of the woman who floated before her.

"Isis."

Her smile was warm, and while she wasn't her mother, Ishizu found herself wishing that the woman were alive and here to act as one. Ishizu stood directly in front of the altar now, the magical artifacts jut within her reach.

"Touch the Necklace, Ishizu, so I can share something with you," Isis murmured.

Ishizu lifted one hand, then looked over her shoulder, suddenly frightened of being caught. She didn't want to be in even more trouble than she already was.

"Nothing bad will happen, my daughter. I promise."

Ishizu turned back to Isis, hesitated only a moment more, then reached out and touched it.

In an instant, years flashed before her eyes and in her mind. Frozen, she stared into space as people's lives flashed before her eyes. She saw a little boy with brown hair crying out his mother died. She saw him caring for his little brother, growing up, working to provide for him, fighting with his father, bleeding, bruised, broken.

She saw him with the Millennium Rod, and _knew_ that it was meant to be.

She saw Marik and Rishid and herself, older, later in life, and they were _free_.

Startled and disconcerted by what she was seeing, she tore her hand away from the item as if she'd been burned. Isis was gone. She'd disappeared while Ishizu was caught up in the vision, but Ishizu wished that she had stayed. She'd seen far too much for her to absorb and understand all of it. She did understand one thing, though.

Ishizu tipped her head back and looked up at the stars for the first time in her life.

She understood that someone was waiting for her on the outside, and that she _would_ some day be free.

Knowing that, she didn't feel quite so alone anymore.

* * *

_Six years ago..._

Fourteen-year-old Ishizu pulled the blankets more tightly around herself as her new husband snored beside her in bed.

Husband.

The word made her want to cry, but she stifled the urge and pressed her face into the pillow instead.

Nobody had warned her just how much her wedding night would hurt.

It was nothing, though, compared to the pain Marik would be enduring tomorrow, she reminded herself, trying not to become fixated on her own misery. Due to the ceremonies of the day, during which she'd worn her mother's jewelry for the first time, she hadn't had the chance to speak with her younger brother or to assuage his fears about the ritual that would officially initiate him into the order of tomb-keepers. She wanted to visit him now, but she was afraid of leaving this room. What if Ahkmenes awoke and found her gone?

She didn't know her husband well, since her father had chosen him for her, but she knew him well enough to fear him.

During the day, she did as she was told, playing the role of a perfect wife: obedient, quiet, industrious. She only did what she was told, only spoke when spoken to, and worked hard to make her husband's life comfortable.

The pain kept recurring after the first night, and she took no pleasure in the act that seemed to bring her husband so much satisfaction. After the first week of lying there and enduring his attentions, he started getting rougher with her, probably out of frustration.

Rishid watched her from a distance, watching the way she moved and seeing every wince and ache. He never asked her about the occasional bruise that she couldn't hide with her apparel, but whenever her eyes met his, she could see that he was angry and that he understood more than she'd ever be willing to tell him.

Ahkmenes died when he was bitten by a venomous snake while working. At the memorial, Ishizu stood beside her elder brother, her hair loose and tangled, her knees caked with dirt, and her eyes red and puffy from crying. She'd wept with relief as soon as she heard the news, and everyone assumed that she was grieving. She would never correct them.

"It was an unfortunate accident," Rishid murmured under his breath. Ishizu glanced up at her brother's expression of quiet rage, her breath sticking in her throat. He turned his head to look at her, and something in his eyes sent a shiver down Ishizu's spine.

"Yes, an accident," she whispered back, nodding slightly.

She would keep his secret.

Marik, standing on her other side, drew her attention when his smaller hand slipped into hers. Ishizu held his hand tightly to reassure him, since this was Marik's first encounter with death.

* * *

_Seven months ago..._

It had only been a few days since her sixteen-week pregnancy had miscarried, and Ishizu still felt the loss like a fresh wound. Even if she hated her husband, she loved her child, and Ishizu still wept on behalf of that little life she would never get to know.

If her husband had supported her emotionally, she might have been able to handle her grief. Ahmed had actually been kind to her at first. Then it had become clear that she was pregnant by her previous husband, Nassim (who'd been mauled to death by a hippopotamus while he was fishing), and Ahmed had become cold to her. He still provided for her, but there was so much that she had to do for herself that she wished someone had helped her with.

Ishizu had hoped that Ahmed might see the child when it was born and still claim it as his own, despite the fact that they'd only been married three months and she was halfway to term. He'd just been starting to come around to the idea of having a child, even though he hadn't fathered it. It meant that he wouldn't have to wait as long for one of his own, which he saw as an advantage.

Ishizu had been filled with happiness, anxiety, and anticipation ever since she found out, and while she couldn't share those things with Ahmed, she _could_ share those things with her brothers, who'd been happy for her, happy enough that she could stay positive too.

Then, the miscarriage. The cramps had been paralyzingly painful, and when she'd started to bleed, she'd called for Rishid. She relied on him more than anyone else. He was her big brother, the one who'd always looked out for her, even with the distance that had been forced between them for so long, even though her father treated him like a slave.

When she'd panicked at the sudden flow of blood, Rishid had let her squeeze his hand and carried her to the midwife for aid. When the loss of the baby was confirmed, Rishid had held Ishizu as she cried. While she was still distraught and unable to think, he had drawn a bath for her and then guarded the doorway so she could bathe privately.

A few days had passed since then, and Ishizu still felt awful. As if she didn't already feel terrible enough, Ahmed and her father had both been angry when they found out. Ahmed had blamed her for the miscarriage, accused her of causing it on purpose, which Ishizu denied frantically, but to no avail.

Curled up in her lonely bed with her grief and her pain, feeling alienated even from her own altered, battered body, Ishizu was struggling to cling to her hope that this would come to an end one day. She didn't just hope, she _knew_ it would happen, she reminded herself. The Millennium Necklace had shown her, and she trusted it. She trusted Isis.

She wasn't the only one suffering, she reminded herself. Even now, _he_ was being beaten too. _He_ was being raped too. Some day, for both of them, the pain would end, she reminded herself. It _would_ end. Then she would no longer have to look into Marik's innocent eyes and tell him lies about how kind her husbands were and how well she felt and how happy she was.

As she was lost in her own mind, trying to find some sort of inner peace, a spirit appeared in her room. One moment she was alone, then she blinked, and a transparent robed man stood in the center of her room, his cloudy blue eyes fixed on her with a steady gaze.

She sat up quickly, feeling apprehensive. She wasn't sure what she ought to say, so she was relieved when he spoke first.

"Hello, my name is Shadi. You are the chosen bearer of the Millennium Necklace. Your time to claim it has not yet come, but you have been chosen for more than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I will lead a man to you," Shadi continued calmly. "A man named Pegasus. He has created tablets for the Egyptian gods of ancient times. They are far too powerful, far too dangerous to be released into the world. You must guard them. It is your duty to protect them from those who would misuse them."

"I can't be caught," Ishizu murmured anxiously, and Shadi nodded in understanding.

"Fear not. I have already arranged the meeting on your behalf and no one from your clan will know."

"Thank you. I won't disappoint you."

"Be on your guard. I will return soon to lead you." With those parting words, Shadi vanished. Ishizu was grateful for the apparition's appearance; it gave her a new sense of purpose now that motherhood was no longer on the horizon.


	2. Exodus

**_Six months ago..._ **

They'd buried her fifth husband a week ago, so Ishizu's father was already angry. Their whole clan believed that Ishizu was cursed, and after the first four husbands had died, Ahmed had been the only man that their patriarch could bribe and cajole into marrying his daughter. But when he found a trading card—the only god card Ishizu had yet to hide—among her belongings, he'd gone into a rage. She'd been in the altar-room with Marik, supporting him as he went about his duties. He was sick, and everyone could tell, but that didn't matter enough to their father for him to let his son rest when he could hardly breathe. If Ishizu didn't know better, if she hadn't seen the future, she would have feared that he could die at any moment.

It was in the process of lighting fresh incense that their father entered the altar-room with a whip in his hand a thirst for blood. The instant Ishizu saw him, she felt cold and her stomach churned. She'd never seen him this angry before.

"Ishizu, where did you get this?" he demanded, holding up Obelisk the Tormentor.

Marik was confused, and opened his mouth to ask what it was, but wheezed instead. Ishizu turned to her brother, her hand going to his back as he bent over, struggling to breathe, but the snap of a whip made her flinch and look back at her father.

"Get away from him!"

Ishizu obeyed, as always, backing away from her brother, away from the altar, even though she wished to run to her brother and aid him in every way she could. If Rishid were here, he would help Marik himself, but he'd left to fetch the flowers from the hunters for the peace offering at the altar. Rishid, like Ishizu and Marik, was forbidden from leaving the tomb. Ishizu wasn't allowed outside because she was a woman, Marik wasn't allowed outside because he was an acolyte, and Rishid wasn't allowed outside because he was a slave.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded again, approaching Ishizu with such fury that she couldn't help but start backing away from him. Her back hit the wall, though, making her stop.

"From a man," she answered in a terrified whisper.

"Speak up, you barren bitch!"

"From a man," she repeated more clearly. "On the outside."

"The outside?" He was trembling with anger, his grip tight on the handle of the whip. He only used that whip when punishing Rishid. "Turn around, on your knees."

Ishizu obeyed, placing her hands on the wall as she braced herself. Marik had already turned his face away, holding onto the edge of the stone altar as he coughed so hard that he couldn't keep his eyes open. He wasn't coughing loud enough, though, that he drowned out his sister's screams.

At that moment, a small team of Japanese archaeologists equipped with flashlights was descending the stairs that led down into the tomb. At the bottom, they were met with a choice of two directions: right or left. They went right and followed the hall for a while until they came to another two way choice.

"This is pointless. We're going to get lost in here," Naomi said with a shake of her head as Ren frowned and turned to her.

"We can map our way as we go. There's no reason to get lost."

"I'd feel safer going back and returning with some rope to leave behind us as we go. It's more reliable than mapping it by hand."

"Fine, then, let's—"

"It's this way."

Ren and Naomi looked up at Kenji, who was standing at the right-hand turn, his flashlight aimed down that hallway.

"What makes you say that?" Naomi asked dubiously. "There are many false passageways in tombs, as you well know."

Kenji bent down and pinched between forefinger and thumb the end of a rough, hand-spun string that was on the floor, the length of which led into the labyrinth. His companions stood behind him, looking at it curiously as he stood.

Little did they know that the string had been left there by a young girl as she sought the way out, not even knowing that she was just a few turns away from freedom. During the four years between her vision of Isis and the day she was married, Ishizu had spent secret hours at night attempting to navigate the treacherous maze keeping her imprisoned underground. She'd known that she would escape some day, but she hadn't been shown how or when, so she'd tried to escape on her own. She would never have left without her brothers, unless they refused to come too, but in order to leave, she needed to find her way out. The men of their clan knew the way out, of course, but this was one of two passages to the outside, and they tended to use the other one because it was closer to the Nile. After hours of trial and error, she'd identified the false passages and circles were people were meant to get stuck and disoriented in the darkness. She'd tracked her progress by lining the passages with string that she herself had twisted from dried reed fibers. It was rough and crudely made, but it did the job. When she married the first time, her night-time freedom came to an end.

Now, the three archaeologists were following the string she'd left behind. The closer they came to the end of the maze, the more apprehensive they became.

"Do you hear that?" Kenji asked suddenly, standing still as he strained his ears.

"Hear what?"

"Sh."

After a few moments, the faintest echo of a scream hit their ears.

"Someone else is down here."

"It sounds female," Naomi commented, looking concerned.

"Then let's hurry." Kenji sped up, and his colleagues did too, until they reached the end of the string, by which time they could see lit torches resting in metal fixtures fastened to the walls. Kenji didn't stop, though. The screams were loud and close now, and he jogged to the first doorway he saw, which only showed a dark, empty room with a hole in the floor. A well. The screams pulled them all further down at a brisk pace, all of them on edge.

"What do you plan on doing?" Ren asked as Kenji removed his fishing knife from the sheath at his side.

"I plan on doing the right thing," Kenji answered simply before they stormed the altar-room.

One moment, Ishizu was crying in pain, hugging her dress to her chest since the whip had torn through the fabric covering her back and was tearing into her flesh. The next second, she heard strange voices speaking a strange language and something soft was being draped over her back and shoulders. Naomi had covered Ishizu with her sweater before darting up to the altar where Marik was in the midst of a coughing fit, on the verge of passing out because he simply couldn't breathe. Ishizu clutched the garment around herself, managing to save her modesty as she turned around to see two men in strange clothes pinning her father to the ground, the whip now out of his reach.

Ishizu ran to Marik, afraid of the strangers, afraid of _not knowing_ what would happen next or if they were safe. The woman seemed to be kind, and she'd helped Marik sit down and start to breathe more easily, so Ishizu seized the Millennium Necklace off of the altar, her mind beginning to fill with answers the instant she touched the cool gold.

Rishid rushed in, then, having heard the screams, the shouts, and the altercation. He looked somewhat startled, but mostly angry. His posture was tense, his fists balled at his sides, his eyes narrowed. He was ready to fight, and he probably would have too if Ishizu hadn't stopped him.

"No, Rishid! These people are here to help us!"

His dark hazel eyes darted up to her deep blue ones, and for a moment, she was afraid that he wouldn't listen, but then he let himself relax a little, and she knew that the violence was over.

By now, Ren had Mr. Ishtar on his stomach on the floor with his hands pinned behind his back. Kenji now stood, looking between Ishizu and Rishid as he tried to understand their exchange. Their language wasn't quite like anything he'd ever heard.

"Who are you, and what are you doing down here?" he asked calmly, aiming his question at both of them, but they both looked confused. "You don't speak Egyptian Arabic, do you?" Still, no clear response. "Can you understand me now?" he asked, switching to Aramaic, but his efforts were futile.

"He needs medical attention immediately," Naomi announced as she sat on the dais with an arm around Marik's shoulders. "She does too. You need to try a different tactic, because we need to get them out of here _now_ without making a fuss."

Kenji thought for another moment, then used one hand to gesture to himself, choosing to look at Ishizu this time for the sake of clarity. She'd wiped her face with the sleeve of Naomi's sweater by now, erasing most of the tears.

"Kenji," he said carefully, still pointing to himself. The young woman looked at him thoughtfully and tilted her head to the side, so he pointed to himself again, repeating, "Kenji."

She lifted one small hand and pointed to herself, carefully saying, "Ishizu."

"Ishizu," he repeated, and she nodded in affirmation of his pronunciation.

"Kenji," she reiterated, pointing at him this time.

"Yes."

"Yes," Ishizu parroted back as she sought to wrap her mind around the syllables she was hearing. It sounded much like the other language the men of their clan could speak. They interacted with people on the outside for the purposes of trade, and they used that other language to do so. After years of hearing it peripherally, she knew at least a dozen words and phrases of it. Before Kenji could speak again, Ishizu lifted her hand again and pointed to her elder brother.

"Rishid," she said carefully, then, pointing at her younger brother, "Marik." Then she pointed to the doorway of the room and said in hesitant Egyptian Arabic, "Go outside?"

"She _can_ speak Arabic!" Kenji seemed pleased with the discovery, but Ishizu gave no indication of understanding his exclamation.

"Apparently only a bit of it," Ren commented, still pinning their father to the floor.

"I can't tell what she's getting at," Naomi mused worriedly.

"Are you asking if we can go outside?" Kenji asked slowly, and Ishizu understood enough of it that she began to nod.

"Ishizu, what are you thinking?" Rishid asked sharply.

"I'm thinking that if our medicine can't help Marik, maybe there's _can_!" she snapped back, which was enough to satisfy her brother. He cared about Marik as much as she did. "They're just here to help, Rishid. They won't hurt us." She tightened her grasp on the Millennium Necklace. "Trust me. I know."

"Very well." Rishid yielded and walked over to where Marik was slumped tiredly against the female archaeologist. Rishid silently lifted his brother into his arms, ready to carry him out of the darkness. Ishizu picked up the Millennium Rod as well, her knees starting to shake with weakness.

"Lead us out," Ishizu said in flawed Arabic, both artifacts in her hands as she held her head high. She was ready to see more than a sliver of the sky.

At that moment, their father began shouting and cursing at them, frustrated and furious. With a deft blow to the head, Ren knocked him out, then carefully stood.

"Let's go."

Ishizu felt disembodied as they made their way through the maze and began ascending the stairs that would lead them to the outside world. When Ishizu stopped, Kenji kept going for a few more steps before he realized that she'd stopped. He'd turned around to look back at her as she gazed up towards the light that shone from above, Rishid standing solidly behind her with Marik cradled in his arms.

"Go on," Rishid murmured. "You wanted this, didn't you?"

"Come." Kenji extended a hand to her, smiling encouragingly as he hoped that she understood. She did, and she hesitantly placed her shaky hand in his. He held it firmly and supported her as she stepped into the light, approaching the surface. When she finally lifted her eyes, she gasped. She couldn't have imagined what this would look like: sand as far out as the eye could see. In wonder, she turned, looking in every direction. Such space, such distance. She couldn't comprehend it.

When Rishid joined her, Marik opened his eyes. He cried out suddenly, the sound one of delight as he pointed to the sun. "Look, sister! Ra!"

Ishizu released Kenji's hand to shield her eyes as she looked up towards the sun, feeling a small smile curve her lips, despite her pain. Then she looked down at the hot sand that burned the bottoms of her feet and knelt down, scooping some of it into her hand and then letting it run through her fingers, watching it with the awe of discovery. Marik was still looking around, pointing and delightedly exclaiming things with every new discovery.

That was when Kenji and his colleagues began to suspect that they must have lived their entire lives underground.

* * *

**_Six days ago..._ **

"I still can't get any reception," Kenji Bakura said with a frown as he glared at his cellphone. His colleague, Ren, was driving the jeep as quickly as possible through the busy streets while Rishid and Ishizu sat in pensive silence in the backseat, holding on tightly so that they weren't thrown from the vehicle. Ishizu was wearing all black with a headscarf that covered her hair and even half her face. Living in Cairo as she and Rishid waited to be cleared by the government for legal emigration to Japan, they'd had to blend in with the locals to avoid suspicion or attention, which meant feigning Muslim faith and adopting Muslim garb. It was safest that way, and with the Millennium Necklace always tucked discreetly beneath her scarf, she could easily avoid any dangerous situation.

It was also the reason she'd requested a detour when their paperwork was finally processed and their friends—Mr. Bakura and his colleagues—came to take them to the airport. She'd requested that they go back to the tomb where they'd been found, and they'd seemed to believe that she was crazy, that it was a waste of time.

She'd insisted that it was important, that there was something valuable she'd forgotten, and Kenji had believed her. So he'd let all but one of his colleagues go back to Japan, taking their findings with them. Kenji and Ren had taken the rental Jeep out into the desert, and as they drove, Ishizu had sensed that she was close to losing her chance to save the two god cards. Two days into their journey, and she knew that they were already too late. Not wanting to waste any more time, she'd told them that it wasn't there anymore. They asked her how she knew, and she didn't give them a substantive answer.

Kenji Bakura believed in the magic of the Millennium Items, however. He'd believed when he saw Ishizu give Marik the Millennium Rod and tell him to "give it to a boy his age named Seto." He believed when Ryou told him that the Millennium Ring had embedded itself in his chest and that a disembodied voice had claimed to choose him as his host. He believed when Ryou told him the story of what had happened when he tried playing Monster World with his friends. So when Ishizu told him that they needed to return to Cairo immediately, or they'd all be in grave danger, he'd believed her.

They were on their way to the airport, and the roads were packed with both people and vehicles. Kenji wanted to call his wife more than anything in at the moment, but his phone wasn't holding reception for more than a few seconds at a time. He probably needed to get a new one. They passed through the heart of the city on their way to the airport, and as they got closer, Ishizu became ever more apprehensive. A crowd was gathered there, but it wasn't the normal crowd of a populated city. There were no women, no children, just full grown men looking angry, shouting harsh words in harsh languages. Law enforcement officers were just arriving on the scene, armed and dangerous. A conflict was inevitable at this point.

"Ken, I think we might have a problem," Ren said as he stopped at a corner, waiting for an opportunity to turn. Ishizu's eyes were darting around wildly, Rishid watching her with concern.

"Get down!" she shouted suddenly, throwing herself to the floor of the backseat. Rishid obeyed instantly, covering his sister protectively as their two companions looked around in confusion. Then a shot rang out from the card, and after the first one, a multitude followed.

"Shit!" Ren exclaimed as he tried to maneuver the jeep out of harm's way. It was too late, though. A stray bullet missed its initial target and flew passed the crowd to tear right through Kenji's right upper arm before lodging into a piece of the Jeep's structure. He shouted with pain and his hand went to his arm. He was gritting his teeth in pain, but he managed to tell his partner to head straight for the Japanese embassy.

A moment later, Ishizu was handing him her hijab so he could use it to staunch the bleeding.

Maybe if she knew how to use the Millennium Necklace better, she could have prevented this.

* * *

**_Today..._ **

"Have you heard from your dad yet?" Seto asked quietly as he and Ryou stood by the front door while Mokuba was collecting his cards.

"Not yet. It's been over a week. Mum and Marik are a mess." Ryou statements were short, a tired, stressed look on his face. While his mother was overcome with distress, he'd stepped up to do what needed to be done. It would have been easier if it weren't for the fact that he was distressed too. The rebellion seemed to be on the verge of being squashed, according to the news, but nobody could be sure of anything.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you sure there isn't anything I can do to help?" The dim sound of a cellphone ringing somewhere indoors wasn't loud enough to draw the attention of either teen.

"Thanks for the offer, but I—"

"Kenji?!"

They both turned their heads to look over and see Mrs. Bakura with her cellphone to her ear, eyes lit up with joy as they started to fill with tears. Ryou stopped breathing for a moment as he was struck with hope. Seto gave his friend's hand a squeeze, and Ryou squeezed back. Mokuba, Amane, and Marik were now watching her too, all of them waiting for good news.

"Are you alright? Where have you been? Why—?" She fell silent as she listened to her husband intently, dabbing at her glassy eyes with the ends of her shirt-sleeves. She gasped and exclaimed, louder than she intended, "You were _shot_?!"

On another continent, thousands of miles away, Kenji was smiling, infinitely pleased to hear his wife's voice again. "It just grazed me," he assured with a weak laugh. His arm hurt like hell, but at least no permanent damage had been done, as far as he knew. "It was just a stray bullet from a skirmish."

"I guess that's a good thing," she murmured into the phone, still sounding upset.

"Yes, it is. Like I was saying, we took asylum at the Japanese embassy as soon as the conflict broke out. My arm's been taken care of and as soon as we get the all-clear, we'll be on the first flight out of Cairo."

"Do you know when that will be?" She sounded anxious, which was only reasonable. He'd been gone a long time, and aside from him being wounded and caught in the middle of a rebellion in a violent country, they both simply missed the one they loved.

"No more than three days, my dear. I promise."


	3. Exile

**Twelve years ago...**

Hospital machines beeped in the small white room, but it was all white noise to Seto as he pushed the visitor's chair next to the bed, climbed onto it, then clawed his way onto the mattress.

"That's my boy," his mother praised softly as she extended an arm to him so that he could curl up beside her. Her complexion was sickly and pallid as she smiled at him and he kissed her cheek. "How's my little Mokie doing?"

"He's doing good," Seto answered, curling up under his mother's arm, as close to her as he could get. "He's with Dad right now."

"That's good," she murmured, voice weak as she let her head fall back against the pillow. Her hand shook a little as she lifted it to push back his bangs and kiss her young son's forehead. He wasn't even five years old.

"Are you coming home soon, Mom?" Seto asked hopefully, innocent eyes alight with hope.

"I don't know, Seto," she sighed, even as Seto reached up to push back a piece of her dark, curly hair that had fallen over her face, imitating and reciprocating her gesture.

"Dad said you were getting better, though," Seto pointed out, making his mother wince. She didn't respond at first, just studied the child's face with a mother's adoration.

"Come here, baby, give me butterfly kisses," she murmured, and her son obliged, leaning forward to affectionately rub his nose against hers. When he pulled back a little, his head resting on the pillow beside hers, she whispered, "I have a special job for you, Seto." She couldn't keep the sadness out of her grey eyes, but her son didn't notice it.

"I'll do anything for you, Mom," he replied, still upbeat, still smiling.

"You're a big brother now, and you've got a little brother who's going to need your help," she murmured, weakly smiling back at him. "Do you remember what I told you the day Mokie was born?"

"I promised you that I'd always look out for him," Seto answered promptly, looking proud of himself. "I do, and I will."

"I know you do, baby." She ran her fingers through his hair again, the woody locks soft with youth. "And I only made you promise me because I know it's a promise you can keep, because that's what I always tell you, isn't it?"

"You say to only make a promise if you can keep it." He looked proud of himself for remembering.

"That's right." She smiled again, but the expression was only half-convincing to a well-trained eye. "And I want you to make another promise for me." She could feel it, that it was her time.

"What is it?"

"I want you to promise me that you'll tell your brother that I love him."

Seto's features twisted in confusion. "I promise, but, you'll tell him yourself, won't you?"

It was her time.

"I love you, Seto."

"I love you too, Mommy."

Her eyes closed and one of the machines started sounding out a long, steady tone.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

"Mom?"

She wouldn't answer, wouldn't open her eyes.

A loud alarm started blaring.

"Mommy?!" Seto grabbed her shoulder and tried to shake her awake.

A doctor and a pair of nurses hurried into the room. One of them started to pick Seto up and carry him away from the bed, but he started to fight back, trying to kick his way free.

"No! I have to be with her!" he screamed. "Mommy! Mommy!"

He shrieked, he kicked, he cried, but he was removed from the room and left to stand alone in the hallway in grief and confusion, tears wetting his round cheeks as he tried to understand unimaginable pain for the first time in his life.

* * *

  **Today...**

"Seto?"

"Hm?" The brunette lifted his chin from his hand and turned to look at his brother, who was currently trying to fold an origami crane.

"What are you doing?" Mokuba was curious because he rarely saw his brother staring into empty space. He was always doing something, and at the moment, he had the newspaper open before him on the coffee table, but he wasn't looking at it at all.

"I was just thinking about Mom." Seto sighed and dropped his gaze back to the apartment listings he'd been perusing. Mokuba remained quiet, and after a few moments went back to his paper folding.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making paper cranes for Amane's birthday."

"Why paper cranes?"

"Because if you make a thousand, you're supposed to get a wish." It was a legend, a myth, and Mokuba knew that, but he couldn't keep himself from hoping.

"What would you wish for?"

"I'd wish for Amane to be able to hear."

Seto looked up at Mokuba, who was intently focused on the paper as he folded it. Seto never talked about Amane's deafness. He knew about it, and his expectations for his interactions with her were adjusted accordingly, but it didn't define her, and he didn't think it was worth commenting on.

"She wants to play on the girls' soccer team at school, but she can't, because she can't hear," Mokuba continued, looking determined. "She wants to know what music is, and she can read sheet music and feel vibrations and copy rhythms, but she still knows that she's missing out on something, and it makes her sad." He finished bending the little head of the crane he'd just folded and reached for a new piece of paper from the stack he had beside him. "It wouldn't bother me, but it bothers her, so it bothers me too."

"That's very good of you," Seto said softly, impressed by his attitude on the subject. Mokuba had a heart of gold, even if he'd been disillusioned about the goodness of other people, thanks to their father. He must be that way naturally, because Seto doubted Mokuba had learned such warm, generous impulses from his brother. Would he still have that heart of gold a year from now? Five years? Ten years? If Seto had his way, he would. He hoped that Mokuba never changed.

"I can't wait to meet Marik's brother and sister," Mokuba said, still occupied with his task. "He says that his brother is even taller than you."

"Unlikely." Statistically speaking, Seto was correct. He crossed out yet another listing that was too expensive. He was mildly pleased that Mr. Bakura was coming home. Of course he was happy that both their family and Marik's family were reuniting, but he was happy for his own sake in a small way.

Mokuba's instructions for emergency situations—like the night they returned from Duelist Kingdom—included a list of people to contact should he or his brother need help outside of—or in addition to—emergency services. Mr. Bakura was the first person on that list, Joey was second, and Duke, simply because he owned a vehicle and was highly adaptive, was third. The only reason that Ryou's mom wasn't on the list was because she worked night shifts and Seto didn't want to burden her with more stress or put her in any danger. Mokuba had called Joey not only because he was closest, but because Mr. Bakura was out of the country.

They'd only had a problem that night because his father had gone nuts from coke withdrawal. If he was suffering the effects of withdrawal, that meant he was deeply addicted, and that made him twice as dangerous as he used to be.

Kenji had asked Seto to tell him if he was ever in trouble, if he was in over his head, if their father became too dangerous for them to live there anymore. While Seto wasn't likely to declare their father "too dangerous" unless he got his hands on a gun, he felt obligated to inform Ryou's father of recent events. He wouldn't want him interfering (yet), but Seto still expected him to try, and maybe that in itself was reassuring.

* * *

 It was after two in the morning when Seto awoke to the smell of smoke and the sounds of distant—and some not-so-distant—sirens wailing in the streets. He sat up quickly as Mokuba started to wake up beside him. The smoke wasn't thick enough for the source to be terribly close by; even so, Seto wasn't going to take any chances.

"Come on, Mokuba, we need to get out of here," Seto called out as he grabbed his coat and pulled it on.

"Seto?" As Mokuba sat up, his lungs were hit with the surprise of smog, and he coughed before he continued. "What's going on?"

"There's a fire. We have to go right now." Seto tossed Mokuba his shoes, and as his little brother pulled on his sneakers, Seto slipped into his own, then moved over to the partially opened window and threw it open the rest of the way. He stepped out onto the fire escape, then offered Mokuba a hand to help him out. Seto went down the narrow ladders first, Mokuba just above him, as they descended along the side of the building. The fire was on the far side of the building, and as far as Seto could tell, it had spread from the building next door. It cast an eerie orange glow over everything, even the sky.

They didn't speak as they escaped, unless it was Seto reminding Mokuba to be careful. When they were on the ground, Seto took his brother's hand and guided him to the sidewalk in front of the building, walking briskly away from their residence where firetrucks and ambulances were just starting to arrive. Mokuba stumbled, not quite able to keep up. He was still only half awake.

"Keep walking, Mokuba," Seto said firmly, eyes fixed ahead of him, refusing to look back.

"B-But Dad—" His protest was weak and anxious, born from a sense of duty rather than any sort of affection, and Seto's answer was curt as he dismissed it.

"He can take care of himself. Keep walking."

Mokuba was still distressed, though, looking over his shoulder back at the smoke and flames that consumed the apartment building. Then he looked ahead once more so that he wouldn't trip over his own feet. Seto walked Mokuba two blocks away before his little brother finally spoke up to complain of the pace. He conceded and walked Mokuba to the corner so they could sit down in the light of the street lamp. Mokuba closed his eyes and set his head in his hands, wanting to go back to sleep, while Seto checked his coat pockets: he had his wallet, his cellphone, and his dueling deck. Everything he needed. If their building burned down, then he could still sell the Blue-Eyes card to the highest bidder and get the cash he needed in order to replace what they'd lost.

Seto frowned at his cellphone. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't want to do it. He'd been thinking over Joey's offer, weighing all of the benefits and detriments, and reached the conclusion that Joey was right. It would be best—in every way—if Seto and Mokuba moved into Joey's basement, they'd be much better off, and they'd be independent from their father much sooner. So why wasn't Seto will to accept the offer?

Pride.

Seto's own pride forbid him from accepting such an act of charity, especially when it made him so vulnerable to discovery. It would be so easy for the others to figure out that he was living with Joey, and if they found out that he was, they'd want to know why he was.

Too many people knew his secrets already. Seto valued his privacy, because it was one of the few things in his life that he valued and controlled. Besides that, there was a particular set of reasoning that had influenced his need for secrecy all this time: if people knew that their father was neglectful and abusive, they would report him to the authorities. If he was reported to the authorities, then he would be arrested. If he was arrested, Seto and Mokuba would be put in the care of child services, nevermind the fact that Seto held down a steady job and was fully capable of supporting them. Even though he was almost seventeen, he was still legally a minor. The foster care system was a flawed mess, one of many examples that the government was terrible at doing anything. If they were put into the foster care system, they ran a high risk of being separated from each other, and Seto had promised that he would always take care of him. Mokuba wasn't ready to be on his own, yet. He wasn't ready to face the world without his big brother there to shield and guide him. He wasn't ready—

Seto was jerked out of his thoughts as Mokuba started coughing next to him, reminded that there was only so much that Seto could protect him from. He pushed the call button on his phone and put it to his ear, counting the rings as he waited for Joey to answer. It rang several times, then went to voicemail, and Seto hung up with a frown, only to call again and put the phone back to his ear.

That was when he remembered the Millennium Rod. It was still inside the apartment. He looked back towards the burning building and sighed in irritation. How could he have forgotten it? Then again, how would he have carried it while climbing down the fire escape? In his teeth like a dog? No thank you.

"Hello?" Joey sounded groggy, which was understandable. It was the middle of the night.

"Joey, can you come pick us up?"

"Seto? It's... almost three in the morning."

"There's a fire," Seto explained quietly, not wanting to go into details. "We don't have anywhere else to go."

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

"Thanks."

Mokuba was sleeping against Seto when Joey showed up, and Seto had to nudge his brother awake. Joey's expression was grim as Seto managed to get his brother buckled up in the backseat. Seto slid into the passenger seat without a word. Joey started driving, and Seto closed his eyes, letting them rest but forcing his mind to stay awake.

"Thanks," he said at last, opening his eyes again to watch buildings pass by, illuminated only by the yellow streetlights.

"My offer still stands, Seto." Joey spared a glance in Seto's direction. "I'll even tell my parents if that's what it takes. You're not safe there."

"Okay."

That was it. That was all it took. Seto may be proud, but he wasn't foolish.

"I'll bring you back tomorrow so you can get your stuff."

"I'll have to take the morning off work, then."

"Why not take the whole day?"

"Because I don't need the whole day, Joey, but I do need to work."

* * *

 **Meanwhile** **, thousands of miles away...**

"How does your arm feel?"

"It still hurts a bit, but that's what the meds are for." Kenji smiled at Ishizu, who didn't seem the least bit reassured. His gaze softened as he said, "You need to stop blaming yourself."

"But I could have stopped it," she protested, turning to face him more fully as she continued. "I could have if I'd started looking ahead sooner, if I'd known what I was doing."

"You can't blame yourself for every bad thing that happens." He spoke firmly, being stern with her as if she were his little sister. In truth, she was old enough to be his sister. "Some things are fated to happen no matter what we do, and other things can be changed by our power to choose. You need to accept the things that you can't change, and accept the things that do happen instead of worrying about how it could have been different. If all you ever think about is what you could have done differently, you'll never be satisfied."

Ishizu sighed, nodded, and murmured an assent, but inside, her stomach was still churning with guilt. She had never been satisfied, so why should she start now?


	4. Pagans

"I need to get you a new uniform before school starts," Seto observed with a sigh. Mokuba's uniform had already begun to look too small on him by the time school let out that spring, but he hadn't realized just how much his little brother had grown over the summer. His old uniform didn't fit him at all.

"Should I still pack it?"

"Yeah, bring it anyways." Seto leaned back and let himself flop onto the mattress behind him, draping one arm over his eyes as his mind swirled with all the things he needed to do: finish packing up their things for Joey's house, buy new winter clothes and uniforms for Mokuba, new shoes for him too, make the appointment with the hospital for removing his stitches, finish the data processing by the end of the day when he finally got to work, recalibrate the card reader on their new Duel Disk prototypes, tell Ryou that he wouldn't need him babysitting anymore... Why did he feel like he was forgetting something?

"Where do you think Dad is?" Mokuba asked suddenly as he was packing his uniform into the duffel bag Seto had rummaged out of the hall closet.

"I don't know, but I hope he stays away until we're out of here." Seto sat up again and started packing all of Mokuba's school books and notebooks into his backpack.

"I don't think I like him." Mokuba had been feeling conflicted about their father for the longest time, and he felt like he ought to like him more than he did. He couldn't bring himself to love the man who made life so hard for them, especially after the way he'd hurt Seto the day they returned from Duelist Kingdom. While Joey was driving him to the hospital as they followed the ambulance, Mokuba had been terrified for his brother. Seto mattered to him far more than his father ever could.

That was when Mokuba had realized that he didn't like his father at all.

"That's okay." Seto understood because he hated their father more than Mokuba's good heart would ever allow. "You don't have to like him. You can just forget about him altogether, if you want." Seto would prefer to erase Mokuba's painful memories if he could, even if it meant that he forgot their father completely. Yes, he'd been a good man once, but Mokuba never got the chance to meet that good man.

* * *

Even after moving in with Joey, Seto was still arguing with him about certain parts of their arrangement. School was about to start again, and Joey had soccer practice after school, so Seto wanted Mokuba to continue going home with Amane and picking Mokuba up himself when he got off of work. Joey, however, wanted to tell Serenity's babysitter to pick Mokuba up too so that they would just go home together, and then Joey would pick up Seto when he got off work. Seto, however, would have preferred to keep things the same and pick up Mokuba from the Bakuras' house, and let Joey pick them up a few blocks away. Walking to Joey's house from Ryou's was a longer trip than it was to get back to their apartment, and if it wasn't necessary to travel the _whole_ distance by foot, Seto would prefer not to. Joey was still resisting this arrangement up until Seto pointed out that picking up Mokuba from Ryou's house was the only time he saw any of his friends on a regular basis now that he'd graduated. Joey didn't want to risk Seto slipping out of their friend circle, so he agreed to it.

Then they'd argued over money. Seto wanted to pay Joey _something_ for letting him stay at their house indefinitely. Joey didn't want a cent from Seto, though, so he had to haggle the price lower and lower until he got it to fifteen bucks a week, threatening that if Seto gave him any surplus, it would be going straight to Mokuba. It was on these terms that they could finally come to an agreement, and they shook hands on it. Once that was settled, Joey went to the attic to find a bin of his old clothes that he thought might fit Mokuba, school uniform included.

The trouble with dressing kids is that they just keep outgrowing whatever you buy them, so they don't tend to wear any one set of clothes for very long. This had proved to be a recurring difficulty for Seto, but he didn't resent his brother for it. It wasn't Mokuba's fault that he just kept growing.

* * *

"Seto, I want you to meet my sister, Ishizu." Marik introduced his sister with an air of pride, pleased to have his family and friends intermingling. Ishizu was just emerging from the guest room, and as Seto's eyes met hers, he felt Seth _leap_ in his mind, the paternal spirit filled with joy at seeing her again. As two pairs of blue eyes locked together, Seth's memories of her flooded Seto's mind.

Six funerals. Five weddings. A young girl whispering frantic confessions at the altar to the artifacts she felt to be her closest friends. An adolescent who yearned for fresh air and an open sky. A young woman who struggled to find her place in a smothering society with a harsh father.

Seto saw it all, and as Ishizu stepped forward with a demure smile and sparkling eyes deeper than the sea, he knew better than to think that she was meek or mild. She was small, but she was strong. Unbidden, a quite from a Shakespeare play he'd been required to read for school popped into Seto's mind: "Though she be but little, she is fierce." It almost popped out of his mouth, too, but he managed to swallow it back and greet her instead.

As he extended his hand, he said, "It's nice to meet you, Ishizu," hoping that he didn't sound as breathless as he felt.

She shook his hand, her lips curling into a pleased expression, making the outer corners of her eyes crinkle. "Likewise."

Had that word always seemed so gracious, or was it only so lovely when _she_ said it?

"And this is my brother Rishid," Marik continued cheerfully. Seto dragged his eyes away from Ishizu to look at Marik's giant of a brother, whose dark scowl made the warmth in Seto's cheeks cool quickly. They shook hands as Marik babbled happily.

"Your father and his colleagues have all been so kind to us! They're going to work at the museum with him translating things, and they all pitched in to help get us an apartment. That means we'll be moving out of here this weekend, just before school starts"-here Marik's light dimmed briefly and he tugged Ryou into a loose embrace that made his lover blush. "I'm going to miss living here, but I guess it couldn't last forever." He rubbed his nose against Ryou's, and Seto found the gesture to be achingly familiar. He glanced away from them, offput and slightly embarrassed. Usually they were far more discrete, but Marik was so eager and Ryou didn't know how to turn him down. Even as Rishid's hand rested on his sister's shoulder protectively, she caught Seto's gaze and offered him a pitying look, as if sensing and sharing his discomfort.

"I'll still see you at school, Marik," Ryou reminded him, hoping that he wasn't as flushed as he felt.

"He's going to Domino High this year?" Seto was surprised. Was he really ready for high school? Marik was still so naive that Seto feared he'd suffer a second culture shock on his first day there. High schools were naturally infested with petty tyrants looking for someone to terrorize, and he didn't know how well he'd fair.

"Yeah. We had to explain his situation to the school," Ryou explained, easing away from Marik, who dropped his arms to put his hands in his pockets, unaffected by Ryou's bashfulness. "And they were pretty accommodating. He'll get a diploma even though he's only staying for senior year. They've already assigned him a tutor for him to meet with during his study hall, and he's going to have at least one member of the gang in all of his classes, so he'll never be completely alone."

"That's good to hear." Seto was running out of things to say and ask, so he was grateful when Kenji entered the room, his arm in a sling but a smile on his face. They exchanged greetings before he took Seto aside so they could talk more privately.

"I'm sorry for the long absence," he began, clearly concerned. "But it's not going to happen again anytime soon, for obvious reasons." He was referring to his injury, but did so with a light heart. "How have you and your brother been while I was gone?"

"We've been good."

"What about your father?"

"He's... worse than he used to be." Seto didn't feel comfortable going into details and focused his eyes on the patterned edge of a picture frame hanging near Kenji's head.

"Have there been any incidences since I left?" Mr. Bakura didn't pull any punches, and Seto respected him for that, even if he disliked the results.

"One, but it wasn't too bad." He shrugged indifferently and added, "I needed some stitches, but I was fine otherwise."

"Stitches?" He raised an eyebrow at him curiously. "Where?"

Glad that he hadn't asked "how" or "what happened," Seto tapped the side of his head and answered, "The hospital waived the fee when I told them I couldn't afford the bills."

Getting stitches at a Patient First clinic was one thing, but going to the hospital was another. "If you were hurt badly enough to go to the hospital—"

"We moved out less than a week ago," Seto interrupted with a small sigh. "Joey knows what's been going on," he admitted. "He's letting us stay with him for a little while until I can afford a place of our own. I've been trying to save up, but there isn't really any place at our apartment that I could put my savings where he wouldn't get to them, so it shouldn't last long."

"I'm glad to hear that." Taking their father's state into account, this was the best course of events he could have hoped for—excepting Seto's injury, of course. Kenji wished that it hadn't taken that much to convince Seto to move out. "If you ever do need my help again, though, don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't," Seto assured, although that agreement would be applied on a circumstantial basis. "Thank you again for all you've done. How's your arm?"

"Healing," he answered with a casual laugh, "It'll take a few weeks and some physical therapy, but it'll be good as knew in a few months, I'm sure." He omitted the doctor's prognosis that his arm might never be quite as strong as it had been. "I'll still be working, but I won't be traveling again for at least a year. My wife and I are still talking it over, but I think my travels have come to an end for the foreseeable future." He didn't look at all bitter about it, although Seto would have thought he'd want to continue his expeditions.

Seto left with Mokuba mere minutes later, and it wasn't until after he'd left that he realized he'd only heard Ishizu utter one word, while Rishid hadn't spoken at all.

"You like Ishizu, don't you?" Mokuba asked slyly as they started walking towards the nearby park where Joey would pick them up.

"I like her well enough," Seto answered indifferently.

"No, I mean, you _like_ like her."

"Pfft. I do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not times ten."

"Do too times infinite!" Mokuba declared, looking utterly pleased with himself. "And infinite beats ten, so that means I'm right." He looked smug, but Seto decided to let it go. Besides, Mokuba wasn't completely wrong.

* * *

Ryou's birthday fell on the second day of school, and he was pleasantly pleased by a shower of gifts. He'd received from Marik a heated kiss in the bathroom stall at school; several packs of Duel Monster cards from Yugi, Joey, and Anzu; a drawing of his favorite card from Mokuba; and new modeling supplies from his family. The message was clear: he hadn't touched any of his RPG or modeling materials ever since he'd put his friends in danger with the spirit's Shadow RPG. He'd been avoiding the basement entirely because of it, and giving up his craft had notably disheartened him. This was their way of telling him to take it up again.

That evening, after Mokuba had been picked up, Seto had given him a rare fiend card, and they'd eaten both dinner and dessert, Ryou was in the basement sitting at the card table in the corner where he did all of his model work. He put on an oversized, button-down shirt and rolled up the sleeves before getting to work. This was the shirt he always used when crafting his models, and each paint stain carried a memory. He'd just finished shaping the wire frame for a sorceress with a pair of needlenose pliers when he heard steps at the top of the stairs.

"I thought I'd try a different style for my figures," Ryou said without looking up, tweaking the elbow's angle of the arm holding the staff. Before now, he'd made them short and squat, because they were easier to make when he'd first started. Now, though, he wanted them to be more detailed and more aesthetically pleasing. He set down the pliers and picked up length of wire, measuring it out for a second figure.

"What's this one going to be?" Kenji asked as he pulled up a chair and sat across the table from him.

"That's going to be a sorceress, probably an NPC. I thought I might base her design off of Morgan from Celtic mythology." The wire snapped with a satisfying click. "She may end up morphing into an evil queen, I'm not sure yet."

"Why would that happen?"

"Because while Morgan le Fay was the sorceress sister of King Arthur, the Morrigan was a goddess associated with war, fate, and death who could shapeshift into a crow, and I could see a crow-feather collar looking cool on an evil queen. I've never tried feathers with much success before, though, so I don't know how well that would turn out."

"What's the other one you're working on?"

"I'm not sure what I'll name her yet; I need to do some more research into mythology before I'll know that fore sure, but I wanted this one to be her counterpart. Morgan will be an evil witch, while this one will be a benevolent sorceress. When Morgan causes plagues, this one will heal and advise the player. That sort of thing." What he didn't say was that he planned on basing the good one's design on his mother. He thought it was high time he based one off of her, and he wanted it to be flattering.

They kept talking as Ryou kept shaping the wire. They talked about Ryou's plans for his newer models, the events of Duelist Kingdom, Kenji's plans for his research at the university. Things were starting to feel normal for Ryou again, and in no small part because his father was home. He was pleased that his father would be around for this next year. He'd missed him too much while he was gone. They all had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author Notes: What's your favorite duel during the Battle City Tournament in Season Two of the anime? Let me know in a review!
> 
> My personal favorite is the two-on-two duel of Kaiba/Yugi vs. Lumis/Umbra (in the alley, before they're wearing masks), when Kaiba pulls the most OP move ever: summoning Lord of Dragons, equipping it with two Flutes of Summoning Dragon, thus allowing him to summon any four dragons from his deck or hand without a sacrifice, so he summons three Blue-Eyes plus another dragon, and just lays waste to both of them, ALL IN ONE TURN. It's absolutely glorious.


	5. Plague

Even though Joey had agreed to take money from Seto, he refused to keep it. Seto lived here as a favor, after all, so when Seto paid him for the first week, he went straight to the store and spent the fifteen bucks on snacks for Mokuba's lunch. If Seto realized, he didn't say anything, but that was alright. Joey liked to harbor the hope that he was sneaky enough that Seto didn't notice.

Seto _hadn't_ noticed, mostly because he had far more troubling things on his mind at the moment. He was trying to pick up a second job. Now that he didn't have to worry about Mokuba being in any danger by being home, he could work later hours on his own schedule without affecting his brother. Joey would certainly resist this plan if he knew Seto's intentions, but that's why Seto kept them to himself.

Serenity seemed glad to have Mokuba around, and the more time they spent together, the more animated and talkative she became. Seto was curious if Mokuba's affections for Amane changed as a result of this, but as far as he could tell, Mokuba was as in love with Amane as he'd ever been.

Because of his difficulty with origami, he'd switched from making paper cranes for her to making tiny paper stars with colored paper. He'd made the same claim about the stars that he'd made about the cranes: "If you make a thousand, you're supposed to get a wish." He was filling a glass jar with them, and Serenity had helped him to tie a pretty ribbon around the rim with a neat bow, using a hot glue gun to secure it.

In his search for a second, part-time job that provided night-time hours, Seto didn't notice Mokuba's declining health. Of course he'd heard the occasional cough, but it hadn't sounded abnormal to him yet. Besides, Mokuba had tried to suppress his symptoms to spare his brother the stress. It wasn't until Seto got a call from the school one morning while he was at work that he realized how bad it had gotten. They asked him if he'd been aware that his brother was sick and if he could kindly come and take his brother home.

Seto clocked out and called a cab to take him to Mokuba's school, then told the driver to wait for him. Mokuba looked up at him sheepishly when his brother arrived at the front office to sign him out.

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting sick?" Seto asked as they walked out together.

"It wasn't so bad to start with," Mokuba said with a sigh. "Serenity showed me where the cough drops were in her house, so I've been using them. But I think the kid who sits behind me in math class had a cold, and he's been out for the past couple days. I think I must have caught it from him."

Seto sighed a little and opened the car door for his brother before following him inside and telling the driver which doctor's office to take them to. "When it started, was it the same as what you had last year?"

"Yeah, I think so." Mokuba looked glum, and as he breathed a sad sigh, it triggered a bout of thick coughing. Seto pat him on the back, and when it had subsided, he pressed the back of his hand to Mokuba's forehead.

"Do you have a fever?" His hand slid from forehead to cheek, and if Mokuba shivered at his touch, he hid it well.

"I don't think so."

"Hm." Seto didn't know if he believed him, but since he couldn't confirm it either way, he wouldn't say anything about it just yet.

* * *

Usually Seto took Mokuba to a charity clinic downtown, not too far a walk from the apartment where their father still lived. This time, though, Seto could afford to take him somewhere that the wait would be shorter and the service would be better.

Seto explained to the doctor that Mokuba'd had acute bronchitis last winter, and the doctor agreed with Seto's guess that he'd contracted it again. Usually he would have expected him to catch it in colder weather—last winter, Mokuba's coughing had started in November—but the house fire and the virus had combined to create favorable conditions for the illness. Mokuba's chest, when listened to, made the same rattling sound that it had last year. The doctor wrote a prescription for a strong, child-safe medicine, giving Seto the slip of paper and dosage directions, adding that if he was still exhibiting symptoms a week from now, he should return. Seto thanked him and went straight from the doctor's office to the pharmacy, dropping off the Rx slip with the intention of returning on his way home from work, when it would be ready to be picked up. He took his brother back to Joey's house then, and this was the hard part.

"Are you going to be okay here by yourself for the next few hours?" he asked as Mokuba tugged off his uniform jacket.

"Yes, I'll be fine." Mokuba smiled to reassure his brother, but it didn't quite achieve the desired effect.

"I'm going to text Ryou so that he knows he's not watching you tonight." He chewed his bottom lip as his brother changed into more comfortable clothes. "And I'll text Joey so that he can tell Serenity to come check on you when she gets home."

Mokuba's breathing was labored, partially because he was trying so hard to not cough in front of his brother. He didn't want Seto to worry about him, but he didn't quite grasp that Seto would worry about him no matter what: healthy or sick, safe or endangered, child or adult. As such, Seto wasn't quite ready to leave him. He already felt awful about leaving him home alone while sick, but he was up against a deadline and the last thing he needed was to give Noah Kaiba an excuse to fire him.

"How about I make you some tea before I go? The doctor said it might help with your throat."

Mokuba made a face and asked, "Will there at least be sugar in it?"

Ten minutes later, Mokuba was sitting at the kitchen counter with a mug of honeyed chamomile tea and his current book for literature class. Seto was standing next to him, running his fingers through Mokuba's hair as he continued to linger. Mokuba felt well enough that he didn't strictly _need_ to stay in bed, so Seto told him to get ahead on his class reading while he still felt well enough to do so. As Mokuba was opening the book and setting the bookmark aside, he looked up at his brother with another warm smile.

"You need to get back to work, Seto."

"I know," he sighed. "But I don't want to go."

"I'll be okay. It's just for a few hours." He didn't actually _want_ to be left alone, but he grasped the concept of necessity well enough to know it was unavoidable.

Seto finally yielded to his stronger, work-oriented impulses. "Alright. Be good and don't push yourself too hard. If you need anything or if you start to get worse, don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

"Okay."

They parted with breathy goodbyes, and Seto returned to KaibaCorp. He worked for the rest of the afternoon with his brother on his mind at all times. The new Duel Disk needed to be ready for mass production by the end of the week, and if their model didn't function perfectly, he could easily be sacked, so he probably should have been more focused than he was. Joey had assured him via text that Mokuba would be looked after, and Ryou had assured him that Amane would keep track of what Mokuba missed in class so he wouldn't fall behind, but that still didn't put his mind at rest.

His supervisor made him stay until he'd worked a full eight hours, so before he left, Seto preemptively asked for the next two days off, as "sick days."

"You look healthy to me," he responded in his usual surly manner.

"My little brother is sick, and I need to stay home to take care of him," Seto retorted tensely.

"As an intern, you're not entitled to sick days."

Typical, stingy, KaibaCorp answer.

"If you let me check out one of the company laptops, I'll work from home and still log my hours. I'll make my deadline one way or another."

Disgruntled, he granted Seto's request, allowing him to finally leave for the day.

"Hey kiddo, sorry for coming home so late," he greeted softly as he entered the guest room that Joey had lent him and his brother. "My boss made me stay late to make up for what I missed."

"That's oka—" Mokuba broke off with a harsh cough, and Seto was at his side in seconds, patting his back until the coughing subsided.

"I've got your medicine now; you're gonna be okay." Seto yanked apart the stapled top of the white paper bag he'd received at the pharmacy and extracted his bounty: a tall bottle of strong pediatric antitussive syrup. Seto looked at the label askance. "Chocolate-flavored cough syrup?"

"Ew!" Mokuba screwed his face in disgust. "Are they trying to ruin chocolate or something?"

"Probably." Seto unscrewed the cap and started to measure it out into the special spoon it had come with. "Typical adults, ruining everything."

"Is that the only flavor they have?" Mokuba eyed the medicine with mistrust.

"'Fraid so." Seto handed Mokuba the measured tube of syrup that tapered off into a spoon. "It'll make you feel better, even though it's nasty."

Mokuba sighed theatrically and downed his medicine in one go with the resolve of someone who'd long practiced doing things he didn't want to do. He handed the spoon back to his brother with a grimace and said, "They've ruined chocolate forever."

Seto kissed his forehead and mumured soft praise before moving off the bed to wash the utensil in the bathroom sink. He returned and sat next to his little brother, who immediately leaned into him so that Seto would put his arm around him. He'd been leaning against the pillows with a soft blanket pooled around him. It was cool to the touch, unlike Mokuba himself, who felt warmer than he had that morning.

"Do you feel hot?" Seto tried to gauge his temperature with his hand to his cheek, and Mokuba shrugged. "I'm going to ask Joey where the thermometer is." He started moving off the bed again, but Mokuba stopped him by grabbing hold of his sleeve.

"Serenity already brought it down for us." He pointed to the nightstand, where a thermometer, a bottle of Advil, and a bag of cough drops sat, waiting to be used. Seto replaced the digital thermometer with his prescription and pushed the button on it, making the display light up with all eights.

"Open up," was all the teen had to say for his brother to obey. Soon Mokuba had his teeth clamped around the hard plastic, his tongue pressing down on the little metal tip so they could get an accurate reading.

A light knock on the door made Seto look up.

"Hey, I just wanted to see how—Oh, you're home." Joey smiled at the brunette, who returned the expression with a half-hearted smile.

"Sorry that I couldn't be home any sooner. I hope it wasn't a problem for you to take care of him in my absence." Seto's words trailed off as Joey started waving his hand dismissively before he'd even finished.

"It's no trouble at all. I'm just glad we could help." Joey's hair was damp at the ends from his post-practice shower, and he bounced into the room and onto the bed with his usual energy. "Do you think you could help me with my homework after you've eaten, though?"

"I can help you now. I ate on my way here."

"Really?" His eyebrows went up in disbelief. "What did you eat?"

The thermometer beeped, and Seto removed it from Mokuba's mouth with a frown.

"He's running a low fever. You might want to tell Serenity to stay away for a few days."

"That's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better soon." Joey gave Mokuba a sympathetic look as the child scowled and slouched deeper into the pillows. If there was one thing Mokuba hated more than being sick, it was being sick _alone_.

* * *

It was midnight when Mokuba first woke Seto with his coughing. It was time for another dose, but Mokuba was resistant at first. It took a little coaxing, and after he finally brought himself to swallow the thick fluid, it took a little while for it to take effect. Mokuba's sleep was restless, but Seto's was even more so. Mokuba's restlessness kept him awake, and his own concern did the same, ensuring that his little brother got more sleep than he did.

In the morning, his lack of sleep was sufficiently apparent.

"You look like crap," Joey observed as he slid down the stairs less than five minutes before they had to leave for school. Serenity was ready: breakfast eaten, lunch packed, bag on her back, and tiny fists propped on her hips with a look of impatience.

Seto scowled at him with bloodshot eyes, hands curled around a mug of black coffee.

"You don't look much better yourself. Have you seen your hair?"

"I'll fix it for him in the car," Serenity interjected, now crossing her arms to look like a miniature of her mother. "You're going to make me _late_ , Joe."

"My coffee's almost ready, then we'll leave, okay?" He leaned back against the counter as the single-serve coffee machine began pouring his morning brew into a travel mug. "How's Mokuba this morning?"

"It's getting worse before it gets better," he answered with an indifferent shrug before sipping from his mug to avoid making eye contact.

"Does he need anything from the store?"

"I can't think of anything off the top of my head."

"If you do think of something, send me a text and I'll pick it up for you on my way home."

"Thanks, I will."

"And if you—"

"Your coffee's _done_ , Joey, we can _go_ now," Serenity interrupted, tapping her toe on the shiny wooden floor.

"Okay, okay, hold on." He slapped a lid on his mug and slung his backpack onto his shoulder. "See ya later, Seto!"

The brunette waved his hand as Joey jostled his way out of the door, and Serenity huffed as she snatched her brother's keychain off the hook. She threw open the garage door and shouted, "Joey, you forgot your keys!" as she bounded out after him.

Seto laughed a little to himself, amazed by how different they were. Serenity so careful, Joey so careless; she so diligent, him so lackadaisical; she so bookish, him so athletic; she so reticent, him so loquacious. They balanced each other nicely, though, and Serenity seemed to take it upon herself to keep her brother in line. And on time.

The toaster popped two pieces of bread from its electrically heated cavity, prompting Seto to abandon his coffee so he could prepare his brother's breakfast.

After taking two pieces of peanut butter toast down to Mokuba, Seto settled down to work with coffee and his borrowed laptop. There was something askew with the coding for one of the battle animations, which didn't make sense, because they'd all worked fine for the first Duel Disk prototype. He suspected that someone had sabotaged his code, but he'd never confess his suspicions to anyone at the company. That could just get him fired.

"Okay, that should do it," he said to his partner through the microphone attached to the headset he'd found in the laptop bag. "Start testing the Performapals cards, and if those ones are fixed now, move on to the rest and let me know as soon as something abnormal happens. I'll be watching as much as I can, but I have to get up and miss something." They'd gotten as far as the Performapals Pendulum Sorcerer—and so far no glitches had been observed—when Seto heard his name being called from the other room. He slipped off the headset and uncrossed his now-stiff legs as he stood to go check on his little brother.

"How are feeling?"

"Thirsty." Mokuba's face was notably flushed today, and his fever had risen by a half degree. "Can I please have some more water?"

"Sure thing, I'll be right back."

Seto was relieved as he retreated to the Wheelers' two-car garage and snagged a pair of store-bought bottled water from the fridge beside the short stairs that led into the house. He returned to his brother as quickly as his long legs would allow.

"Have you been able to get some more sleep?" Seto asked as he sat beside Mokuba as he took a drink from the offered bottle. Seto gently tugged Mokuba's wild hair out of its bun, slipping the elastic around the wrist as he combed out the biggest knots with his fingers.

"A little, now and then," Mokuba answered with a slight shrug, screwing on the plastic top. He still breathed slowly and carefully to avoid aggravating his condition.

"Do you want something to help you sleep?" Seto had smoothed down Mokuba's hair and was carefully gathering it all together at the back of his head, wrapping it into a tight ball and securing it with the hair elastic so that his long hair didn't cause any added discomfort.

"Hmmm…" Mokuba thought that over as he leaned back into the pillows again. "Do you remember the stuff you used last year? I don't know what it was called…"

"The vapor rub?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"I'll ask Joey to get some before he comes home."

Seto sat with Mokuba for a little while, an arm around the little one for comfort. He felt less stressed with his brother than with his work. He knew Mokuba was going to be okay again, but he didn't know if he'd still be working at KaibaCorp even a week from now. Mokuba was a calming constant in his life, but a constant that he fought to keep nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to take chocolate-flavored cough syrup once as a kid. Nasty stuff. (X_X) What do you remember about being sick as a kid? Tell me in a review! The next chapter will be up soon, and I'm dedicating it to all my Puppyshippers out there! ;)


	6. Vigil

When Seth appeared beside Seto late that night, it startled him more than he cared to admit. He should have gotten used to things like this by now.

 _"I'm sorry about Mokuba,"_ he murmured, making the brunette start and almost knock his laptop out of his lap entirely.

_Yeah, well, I guess Millennium Items aren't that practical. Magic is all well and good when fighting other magic, but if it can't cure disease or put out a fire, it's not that helpful._

Seto's tart retort was a manifestation of his accumulated frustration with his circumstances. Seth understood this and derived no personal offense from his comment. Even though Seto couldn't feel his embrace, Seth easily straddled the chair behind Seto, wrapped his arms around his midsection, and rested his chin on Seto's shoulder. After a few moments, Seto resumed working, remaining acutely aware of Seth's ghost.

 _"I remember getting sick once when I was young,"_ Seth said suddenly, staring at the computer gibberish before them. _"It was like this, but it was more fever than coughing."_

He spoke calmly, slowly, which allowed Seto to keep working while paying attention.

_"We called it Patters. Most kids got it once in their life, but I got it during a drought. It felt like I was burning alive. My mother thought I was going to die. We both thought so."_

Seto could imagine: a fever in the desert during a drought. Some would have considered death a more merciful option.

 _You're stronger because of it,_ Seto assured without his eyes leaving the endless string of code. When they first met, Seto would have considered Seth far above the need for assurance, but now Seto saw him for what he was: a man, just like any other. Just like Seto.

_"Mokuba will be too."_

Seto stewed over those words, trying to believe them.

"Hey."

A new voice called out to him, accompanied by the slight creak of the door as it opened a crack.

"Hi Joey. Do you need something?" He didn't mean to sound rude, but he couldn't help it.

"No, but you look like you need some sleep. You don't have to stay in here, you know."

"Keep your voice down," Seto hissed. "I finally got him settled, and I don't want him waking up. He didn't sleep much last night."

"You slept even less than him," Joey pointed out in a whisper. "You need it just as much as he does, and you'll never fall asleep sitting in the chair like that."

"I _can't_ sleep Joey, that's the point. I need to stay awake in case he needs me."

"Oh, wait, hold on a second."

Joey's revelation prompted him to take off, and ten minutes later he reappeared with what appeared to be walkie-talkies. As he moved closer, though, and switched them on, Seto saw that they were baby monitors.

"That should do the trick," he muttered placing one on the nightstand and shoving the other in his back pocket. Since Seto hadn't moved yet, Joey closed the laptop and set it on the floor before taking Seto's hands in his own and pulling him to his feet.

"Are you sure those things still work?" Seto whispered hesitantly, resisting Joey's initial attempt to lead him away. A quick glance over his should showed that Seth sat on the chair he'd vacated, looking mildly amused.

 _"I'll watch over Mokuba while you sleep. Go, Musuko. Rest."_ Seth spoke so calmly that it did ease _some_ of Seto's anxiety.

"I just replaced the batteries." Joey pulled harder, making Seto stumble forward and finally yield to his friend's influence.

"Okay, so, you got me out of our room," Seto muttered as he carefully closed the door behind him. "What now?"

"You can sleep on the couch upstairs." Joey led the way, and Seto reluctantly followed. "The couch down here isn't as comfortable."

The house was dark and quiet, as was expected in the hour before midnight. Joey put the baby monitor on the coffee table as Seto sat down, his expression troubled. He was too exhausted to stay awake, but too stubborn to fall asleep.

"You don't plan on sleeping, do you?" Joey asked after a few moments, crossing his arms in disapproval.

"Not… really," the brunette admitted.

"Then I'll stay with you and make sure you do."

Joey plopped onto the couch next to him and tackled him to the cushions. It caught Seto by surprise, and he stiffened at first, but soon followed suit as he felt Joey settle himself more comfortably beside him. Soon, Joey and Seto were lying on their sides, spooning with Joey's back to the cushions and Seto staring at the steady light of the baby monitor's red LED. Joey tucked an arm around Seto's waist and pulled him closer, resting his chin on the top of Seto's head. The brunette hadn't relaxed quite yet.

"You're even skinnier than I thought you were," Joey commented too casually.

"You're one to talk," Seto scoffed, purposefully ignoring the undertones of concern that he sensed in the blond's observation. "You're just as much of a stick as I am." _Almost_ as much of a stick; Seto was strong, but Joey actually worked out, thus building more prominent muscles.

"Yeah, but at least _I_ know that I eat enough." Joey didn't know how to be anything but blunt.

"That's none of your business," Seto growled, bristling at the implications. He tried to roll off the couch. Joey grabbed his shirt and yanked on it so that he was lying on his back. Joey shifted until he was hovering over Seto, his eyes reflecting what little light there was in the darkness.

"Look, I don't know what's going on in your head, and I don't pretend to know. But I _do_ want you to know that you can eat whatever you find in our kitchen. You hardly touch a thing in there, but you can if you want to. That was part of the deal, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Seto sighed. Joey was now the second person to comment on his weight. Duke had been the first, and they appeared to be of the same opinion that he was too thin. "Can you get off of me now?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah." The blond blushed as he realized he had one fist and one knee planted on either side of the friend he was reprimanding. "Sorry." He toppled onto his side, and they resumed their former position.

"I don't do it on purpose," Seto said after an awkward silence. He felt the need to explain himself so that Joey didn't get the wrong impression. "Not eat, I mean. I just got used to… not _needing_ much food. It's weird to think that I don't have to do that anymore." Realizing that he hadn't been completely clear, he hurriedly explained, "It's not like I starve myself, or anything like that. I eat twice a day, and that's enough for me. And back when…" He faltered as Joey's hand lazily rubbed his stomach with a light touch. "Back before things changed, I just felt sick all the time. I never really _wanted_ to eat." Seto was the "eat to live" type, while Joey was of the "live to eat" mindset.

"It's okay, I understand." Joey's warm breath tickled his ear. "But you don't have to do that anymore, okay?"

"Okay."

"I can order pizzas for us right now if you want," Joey offered. He could eat pizza anytime.

"I'm fine, thanks. I'm just tired."

They settled back into silence. It was more comfortable this time, but equally brief.

"How does your head feel?" Joey murmured. "Does it still hurt?"

"No, it's fine." Seto'd even started to forget that he'd been injured at all.

"Good." The blond sounded relieved, and his warm breath tickled Seto's ear. "You really scared me that night."

Seto closed his eyes as he remembered his father's violence.

"I got a concussion once back in middle school. I bonked heads with another kid and broke his nose, but I was worse off. I was out of school for five weeks, I was so out of it. I'm glad you're okay, though."

"Five weeks seems like a long time. That must have been quite the concussion."

"He had a hard head. Or maybe I got the concussion when I hit the pavement right afterwards."

That piece of information surprised Seto into a light laugh, making Joey grin. He thought that Seto didn't laugh nearly as much as he should.

"Probably," he conceded, the mundane conversation starting to soothe him.

"How's work?"

"Ugh." Seto rolled his eyes a little before closing them. "We had to translate the code for the holograms into a more compact form, and now I have to go through and fix all of the glitches that occurred during translation, and for _whatever reason_ , all of the Duel Monsters that wear top hats have the same glitch: when they move to attack, their hats stay floating in the air behind them. White Magical Hat is the only exception because he throws the hat to attack, but everything from Crooked Cook to Graceful Dice does the same thing." He sighed heavily. "It feels like someone's screwing with me."

"If it seems like someone's out ta getchya, they probably are." Joey's commentary was casual and light-hearted, hiding his concern at the prospect of someone having a vendetta against his friend.

Seto hummed soft agreement. He was starting to feel more tired, and for moment, he actually forgot that he was trying to stay awake in case Mokuba needed him. He fell asleep without meaning to, his concern still burning in the back of his mind.

He woke up once, when he could hear Mokuba calling his name through the baby monitor's speaker. Seto was still trying to open his eyes and force his mind into motion when he felt the warmth at his back move away, replaced by cooler air. Joey was careful not to disturb Seto as he climbed over him to get off the couch. He turned down the volume on the baby monitor before leaving, and Seto closed his eyes again with a small sigh. Soon, he heard Joey's muted words through the device on the table, and put his mind to rest.

* * *

When Seto took Mokuba back to the doctor for a follow-up the next week, the worst of his illness had passed, but both brothers knew full well that it would linger for weeks, as it had last year. Certainly, it helped that Mokuba had been removed from the polluted air of their former abode, but damage had been done to his little lungs, and that wouldn't go away overnight. Due to Mokuba's degree of difficulty with breathing, especially caused by occasional coughing fits that sometimes led to wheezing, the doctor prescribed a new medication for him, saying that he wouldn't need it for more than a month, but that it would allow him to continue attending and participating in school normally until the bronchitis passed.

The inhaler was expensive, but Seto had expected as much. Mokuba didn't like it, but Seto firmly impressed upon him the idea that he couldn't lose it or abstain from using it simply because he didn't like it. Mokuba would be responsible with it, but that didn't make things any easier for him.

"Hey, give it back!" Mokuba protested, trying to grab the small medical device from the bully's hand as the other kid held it out of reach and pushed Mokuba away. "I need that!"

"You need it that badly, huh?" the older kid scoffed. "You're such a dork."

"I am _not_!" Mokuba shouted angrily, still struggling with his adversary for possession of his prescription. The bully's two friends cackled cruelly, getting Mokuba even more worked up.

"Hey, wanna play a game? How about monkey in the middle?" The bullies spread out a little and began tossing the inhaler to each other, Mokuba scampering in the space between as he desperately tried to catch it. They were all taller than him, though, and his arms just weren't long enough. He kept up the effort for a couple minutes, then gave up when he felt his chest constrict. Panting and irked, he stood in the middle of the triangle and waited for them to give up. They didn't stop tossing the inhaler between them until they were approached by someone they knew only as "the deaf girl."

Amane'd been searching for Mokuba out of the crowd of kids just released for recess, and when she'd seen him getting picked on by the older students, she marched right over to them and walked right up to them without fear. She stood in front of the one who'd just caught Mokuba's inhaler, crossed her arms, jutting her chin defiantly, and glared at him.

"What do _you_ want?" He tossed the inhaler from hand to hand, raising a dubious eyebrow at the little girl.

Amane held his gaze steadily, then calmly held out one hand, palm facing upwards, and waited.

"Meh, this is boring. We've got better stuff to do, right guys?" His pals voiced their assent, and he dropped the inhaler into Amane's hand before leading his friends away. Amane quickly gave Mokuba his inhaler, her friend relieved and pleased by her intervention.

"Thanks, Amane. You're the best." They hugged tightly for just a moment, then broke apart so that Mokuba could use it. Amane wasn't particularly bold or brave, but if Mokuba needed her, then she could find it in herself to stand up to someone she'd never want to interact with otherwise. Love could make people do crazy things.

* * *

Seto did make his deadline at work, and the newer design for the Duel Disk was shipped out to manufacturers for mass production. It would be in stores nationwide by the end of the month and in stores internationally by December, just in time for the holidays.

The Duel Disk would receive tremendous promotion through the Battle City Tournament that Noah was arranging. He planned on announcing it next week, but invitations had already been sent out to some duelists of international repute so that they could be drawn in to participate as well.

As Noah Kaiba gazed down at his city from the window of his top-floor office in KC HQ, he smugly contemplated the media storm that would promote his company and boost sales revenue. He was filthy rich and getting richer, but he wasn't happy with that. Thanks to the street rat who'd stolen his title as champion, he'd been comatose for months—long enough for KaibaCorp stocks to plummet, for his girlfriend to leave him, and for his top level employees, often referred to as the Big Five, to become all too comfortable doing _his_ job. To say that he was bitter would be an understatement.

As Noah stood in front of the window, he lifted one hand and cupped it over his left eye, hissing a little at the sting resulting from touching the inflamed skin around it. Surely his eye was infected, but he couldn't see a doctor about it. He was far too paranoid to confide in anyone whose trust could be bought unless he was certain that he was the only one buying their trust. For now, he'd treat the painful infection himself and hang the consequences. His hair had continued to grow while he was comatose, giving him bangs long enough to hide his left eye so that none could see how it'd been altered.

That was important to him, since he'd be making public announcements to the city quite soon regarding the tournament. He was the face of the company, and he couldn't let on just how much he'd changed.


	7. Obelisk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Going to a coffee shop is basically my only idea for what a date looks like, so if it seems like I use that too often in my stories, it's because that's the closest thing to a date that I've ever had. #SingleProblems #ForeverAlone
> 
> I'm gonna start picking up the pace in the next chapter, so beware, the drama will begin shortly.

Seto felt nervous as he descended the stairs towards the ground floor of KaibaCorp so he could exit the building for his lunch break. He'd rarely ever taken a proper lunch break in all his time working here, but he'd never before left the building in order to do so. He was today, though, because he'd promised Dr. Bakura that he would.

When picking up Mokuba the night before, Seto had been pulled aside by his friend's father for a brief chat, during which he'd been persuaded to take Ishizu out for coffee. In retrospect, Seto felt like he'd been set up on a date, but it was too late now to back out. He'd already agreed and Ishizu was expecting him.

 _Given the way you were gaping at her_ , _I would have expected you to be pleased at seeing her again_ , Seth teased from the back of his mind.

 _I was_ not _gaping._

_I wouldn't bet on it if I were you._

Seto shrugged off Seth's comment And walked with confidence towards the museum sponsored by Dr. Bakura's university. He was going to meet Ishizu at the museum and take her to the cafe two blocks away, where they would… talk. Probably.

It was understandable if Ishizu was quiet, given that she was living in a new country that spoke a language she'd only learned recently, but he had some questions that only she could answer, so hopefully he'd get her to say _something_. He found Ishizu in the lobby speaking to one of the professors in the archaeology department— _not_ Dr. Bakura, which was a little bit of a relief, though he wasn't sure why.

"Thank you again, Naomi, for all you've done to help us," Ishizu was saying to her companion as Seto approached her. "How could we ever repay your generosity?"

"No repayment is necessary. That's what friends are _for_ , dear," Naomi returned warmly. "Where would we be if people need to look out for each other? I won't keep you any longer. Have fun, you two!" She was speaking to Seto too, now.

"Thank you, Dr. Sasaki," Seto interjected as she waved to the both of them and walked away. He'd met her once during the spring when he was interning for Dr. Bakura at the university. He remembered that she'd only been back in Domino for a week before returning to Egypt to be with Ishizu and Rishid. She'd stayed with them in Egypt for months helping with the emigration paperwork and teaching them Japanese—and any number of other things about the modern world.

"Are you ready?" Seto asked, turning to Ishizu, who offered a him a slight smile.

"Yes."

"Alright, let's go."

They were mostly silent as they made their way through the tourists that heavily populated the sidewalks to the cafe, where the line was short and the wait was shorter. Ishizu seemed slightly uneasy the whole time, fidgeting with her silky gold scarf and the skirt of her long blue tunic that she wore with ankle-length leggings. She didn't wear the gold bracelets and arm-bands that Marik wore as often as possible, but Seto attributed that to a wise realization that wearing so much gold in public would draw unwanted attention. There was still a flash of gold at her ears and in her hair, but not enough to make her stand out. She didn't seem to relax until they were seated together at a small table in the private garden patio behind the cafe—Seto with his coffee and Ishizu with her tea.

"So you're Marik's older sister?"

"Yes, by four years."

That made her about twenty.

"When he first came to Domino," Seto began slowly. "He gave me something, saying that you told him to give it to me."

"Yes, the Millennium Rod." Ishizu smiled enigmatically, as if this paradox didn't trouble her at all—which, to be fair, it probably didn't.

"Why?" It wasn't his only question for her, but it was a good place to start.

"Because it is your destiny," she answered calmly, her voice as smooth as slow-churned ice cream. {history repeats itself in a never-ending cycle, quote from S2 E?}

"How did you know about _me_?"

Ishizu reached up to her scarf and tugged at it until it was loose enough to reveal the gold necklace resting snugly around her neck. "I know because of this, the Millennium Necklace." She rested one fingertip against the eye-shaped pendant. "With this, I can see the past, the present, and the future." Seto was stunned and slightly skeptical, and his expression must have told her as much, because then she said, "I can prove it to you: ask me what any of your friends are doing right now, and I can tell you."

"What's Mokuba doing?"

"He's sharing his fruit snacks with Amane," Ishizu answered after a moment, the necklace glowing softly under her touch.

"Did I use the elevator or the stairs to go up to the lobby when I left KaibaCorp?"

"You went _down_ the stairs." She smirked slightly, having caught his subtle trick. "You work on the third floor, not in the basement."

"Impressive." He gazed at her contemplatively as she dropped her hand from her neck and sipped her tea.

"Do you believe me yet, or would you like to test my abilities further?" Ishizu looked at him calmly, as if nothing could disturb her peace of mind.

"What was I doing this day last year?"

"Hm." Ishizu touched her necklace again and closed her eyes for focus. "You were at school... doing calculus homework in an empty classroom during lunch." He'd done that almost every day last school year, but not even Marik could have told her that. She opened her eyes and added, "At least, it looks like calculus."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know everything," Ishizu explained, dropping her hand again. "I can only know the things that others have seen. My Necklace lets me look through someone else's eyes to see what _has_ happened, what _is_ happening, or what _will_ happen."

"So if a tree falls in the forest, and no one's there to hear it..."

"I wouldn't know." She answered the age-old riddle with a delicate shrug.

"Even with that limitation, that seems like a lot of power for one person to have."

"So you say, but _you_ have been entrusted with the Rod, the only Millennium Item that actually possesses the ability to enslave people's minds."

Seto stiffened, expecting an accusation to follow, but when none came, his shoulders relaxed.

"I don't use it that way."

"I know. And I don't use the Millennium Necklace for personal gain of any kind, though many others would if they were given the chance." She blinked at him calmly. "The Millennium Items have a way of choosing people who won't abuse them."

"What about Maximilian Pegasus?" Seto arched one eyebrow at her, crossing his arms as he remembered quite vividly the way the multimillionaire had abducted two children and held them captive in a dungeon.

"I can't answer for why things happen the way they do." Ishizu spoke slowly, looking regretful as she sought the words she needed to defend herself. "I know that Pegasus was given the eye because it was his fate and because... he needed to have it." She hadn't meant to bring this up so soon in their conversation, but since it had come up, she'd take advantage of the opportunity. "That's something I actually wanted to discuss with you."

"I don't understand."

Ishizu slipped her hand into an inconspicuous pocket on the side of her tunic. "I met Mr. Pegasus once, months ago."

"You did?" This news couldn't have shocked him more. "How?"

"He was visiting Egypt and, well, it's a long story. You don't need to know all of the details—"

"Yet, you expect me to trust you?" Seto wasn't trying to be confrontational, but he thought it was reasonable to ask for more information. Ishizu thoughtfully bit her bottom lip, the hand that she'd slipped into her pocket now resting in her lap, hidden from view by the table.

"I suppose it _is_ a fair request," she acknowledged, looking either reluctant or embarrassed. Seto couldn't decide if it was either or both. She began to look a little lost as she gathered her thoughts together. "I suppose it would be best to start from the beginning..."

"It usually is."

"Duel Monsters was played by Ancient Egyptians three thousand years ago."

"Yeah, and the Romans played Pokemon." Seto made no attempt to hide his sarcasm.

"Don't be so quick to disregard me."

_She's right, Seto._

Now _you choose to comment?_

_Let me show you._

Images of an ancient throne room filled with menacing, yet recognizable, monsters appeared in his mind's eye.

"Okay, let's say I believe you." Seto was willing to go along with this for now, at least. "Why does that matter?"

"You are familiar with Shadow Games." It wasn't a question, but her tone still implied that she required an answer.

The Shadow RPG he'd played with his friends on the Monster World diorama came to mind.

"Yes."

"Shadow Magic was used to summon monsters from the spirit world to our world in fight for sorcerers who sought power and rank. These monsters were powerful, the Shadow Games were dangerous, and they almost tore the world apart."

"The world, or the country?" Seto asked doubtfully.

"The country was the immediate threat," she acknowledged. "But the world would inevitably have been destroyed as well. The pharaohs commanded control of the most powerful of these monsters. Some of them you would recognize, like Exodia."

"Exodia The Forbidden One is the most powerful monster in all of Duel Monsters." The pieces of Ishizu's narrative were starting to fall into place. "Pegasus must have known that in order to make Duel Monsters in the first place." Ishizu nodded, smiling a little; he was as smart as she expected.

"Pegasus went to Egypt and was given the Millennium Eye by a spirit named Shadi. He is the keeper of the Millennium Key."

"The Millennium Key? How many Millennium Items are there?"

"Seven: the rod, the key, the necklace, the puzzle, the ring, the eye, and the scale."

"And they're all…?"

"Magical?" Ishizu's eyes sparkled in amusement as she recognized his reluctance to say the word. "Yes, but we can discuss those another time—"

"What about the Millennium Eye, though?" Seto interrupted. "When Pegasus died, was it buried with him?" This was a question he'd had ever since they heard the news that Pegasus was dead, but until now, he never thought he'd be able to get an answer to it.

Ishizu froze, suddenly looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Seto didn't know what had startled her, but he was willing to let her think and drink his coffee in the meantime.

"No," she answered at last. "No, the Millennium Eye was taken by his killer."

"So he _was_ murdered." Seto hadn't truly believed the media story that he'd accidentally drowned in his pool while intoxicated; it just seemed too convenient, especially since their first story had reported suspicion of foul play. "Who has it?"

Ishizu opened her mouth, closed it again, and shook her head. "I don't know if I should tell you. I can't tell if it's better that I tell you now, or if I tell you later, or that you figure it out on your own." She closed her eyes and covered her face with one hand, starting to feel a headache coming on. "I never know how much to divulge or if I should act on what I know." A frustrated sigh escaped her lips. "I still blame myself for Kenji's injury," she admitted quietly. "There was a decent chance that he wouldn't come home at all, but if I was able to keep him alive, then I should have been able to keep him safe." Her hair fell down over her face as she propped her elbow on the table and closed her eyes.

Seto was surprised. Until now, Ishizu had presented as a calm and collected person, almost frighteningly perfect. Now, he could see quite clearly that her four more years of life experience hadn't given her all of life's answers. He was quiet for a few minutes as she struggled with herself.

"Making hard decisions is a painful inevitability in life," Seto commented quietly. "My home situation hasn't been stable for years. This spring, Kenji offered to let Mokuba stay with his family until I could make enough money to… to make a safer home for us. I turned him down, but I still wonder if it wouldn't have been better for him. For us." He'd never told anyone that before, and he wasn't entirely sure why he was telling her now. Maybe because she'd spent most of her life underground and she wouldn't judge him the way that other people might. Ishizu lifted her head a little to smile graciously at him.

"Thank you." She dropped her gaze, and Seto didn't even realize that he was going to pat her other hand until he was doing so, and his palm made contact with the warm back of her hand. After a moment, Ishizu turned her hand over to hold his in comfortable silence.

_Seth, did you do that?_

_I'm quite certain that I have no idea what you're talking about,_ Seth answered innocently.

_Like hell you don't. I don't need you interfering with my relationships, romantic or otherwise._

_A small push in the right direction wouldn't_ _hurt_ , Seth retorted remorselessly. _I ju_ _st want you to be happy._

"Pegasus was murdered by Noah Kaiba."

"What?" He was speechless.

"When he woke from his coma, he went to Pegasus' private island," Ishizu explained, her dark eyes suddenly sad. "He demanded that Pegasus give him the most powerful card in all of Duel Monsters. The three most powerful cards in the game were based off of the Ancient Egyptian god monsters: Slifer the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and the Winged Dragon of Ra. Months ago, however, Pegasus had entrusted them into my care. That's why the spirit, Shadi, appeared to me: to request my assistance in guarding them so that their power doesn't fall into the wrong hands. He led me to Pegasus and vice versa. That's when I met him, when he gave me the god cards."

"I'm guessing that didn't work, though, did it?" Seto was correct in his estimation, but that only made her failure sting that much more.

"I hid Slifer and Ra before we were discovered by the archaeological team, but Pegasus told Noah the location of my clan's… underground home before he died, so he found them and now has them in his possession. He's going to come after you, Seto." She was confident enough in the reality of the danger for her concern to be whole-hearted. "He wants revenge, and he plans to get it during the upcoming Battle City Tournament. That's why I want you to have this." She took the trading card from its resting place on her lap and placed it on the center of the table.

"That's… Obelisk the Tormentor." He looked back at her in astonishment. "You're giving this to me?"

"Yes. You'll need it if you're going to stand a chance against him. Besides, only certain individuals are capable of successfully wielding their power, and you're one of them."

"Is it because I have the Millennium Rod?"

"Not exactly. Your ancestry and your destiny determined your possession of both items."

Seto's eyes burned like flames, and Ishizu could only imagine what he was thinking.

"Who else can command the god cards?"

It wasn't the question she was expecting, but it was easier to answer.

"Your friend Yugi can, as the keeper of the Millennium Puzzle." Of that much, she was sure. "Marik and I probably could, given our heritage and knowledge of the ancient scriptures." Much of what she knew of the ancient scriptures she'd learned from Marik, though, just as Marik had taught her how to read.

"But not Rishid?"

"Marik is too good-hearted to have told you," Ishizu said with a rueful smile. "But Rishid was adopted before I was born. He isn't our brother by blood, and my father never treated him as a son."

"No, he never told us." Seto was genuinely surprised; he never would have guessed they weren't related, given that Marik had always spoken so fondly of both of them. Besides, Ishizu and Rishid looked most alike, so if he had to pick two of the three Ishtars that were blood relatives, he would have picked them. Marik was the genetic anomaly with his fair hair and pale eyes.

"Despite our hardships, he still seems so untouched by the darkness in our world." Ishizu sighed indulgently, taking on the expression of a doting parent: a mixture of pity and envy. "I suppose that means I have succeeded as his sister. Ever since our mother died, my father has been a hard man."

"Hard in what way?"

Ishizu bit her lip as she struggled with Japanese vocabulary. "He was strict, and he had high expectations that were difficult to achieve. I cannot recall him ever being affectionate, either."

"Cold and bitter," Seto added with a nod. "I know what you mean. Short-tempered, too?"

"He was often angry," she agreed, her eyes fell to where their joined hands still rested on the small table. "Anger leads to violence…"

"Violence leads to pain."

"Pain leads to resentment."

"Resentment leads to hatred."

Seto's perception of Ishizu—which was formed out of Seth's hazy memories and this conversation with her—took a turn for the familiar. She was protective of her little brother and had protected him from their wretched father.

"And I'm guessing you didn't want Marik to remember his father the way you do." He could definitely sympathize with that.

"Neither did Rishid, although he had more cause to hate him than I did." Ishizu drained the last of her tea. "Sometimes… we tell lies for someone's benefit, to protect them from the painful truth." To an outsider, that comment might seem like a non sequitur, but it made perfect sense to both of them. "I am not enamored with deception, but…"

"But when someone's that young, you want to save them from things they can't yet understand. That's what being an older sibling is about."

"And sometimes the best way to protect them is to fulfill your familial duty—"

"—Even when it hurts."

"Even when it hurts," Ishizu agreed.

Seto felt like he was looking into a warped mirror. She was a completely different person from entirely different circumstances in a totally different country, but their shared experiences were painfully similar. While he pitied her, he also took comfort in their similarities. Suddenly, Ishizu made him feel like he wasn't alone.

Of course he had friends and Mokuba, so he never felt truly _lonely_ these days, but he often felt _alone_. Dr. Bakura and Joey knew some of his dirtiest secrets, but they still didn't know what it was like to make those decisions or to willingly put yourself through such physical, spiritual, and emotional torture.

Ishizu did.

Now he didn't resent Seth for holding hands with her.

* * *

"Should I tell the others about the god-cards?" Seto asked as they lingered in the museum lobby. "And about Noah Kaiba?"

"That's up to you. I don't see any harm in their knowing; I only see it doing them good, since he's more dangerous now than ever before."

"Even more dangerous than he was when he built Death-T?" Seto felt safe assuming she knew about Noah Kaiba's morbidly themed amusement park attraction if she was willing to make comparative statements like "more dangerous now than ever before."

"Yes, even more dangerous than that." Ishizu looked grim. "He must be stopped, and right now, you're the only one who can do that." She hesitated. "You _will_  enter the Battle City Tournament, won't you?"

"I don't like the idea of taking more time off of work..." He was so close to having enough money to make the necessary two-month payment for a small apartment, and he didn't want to live at Joey's house any longer than necessary.

"The tournament is your only chance at stopping him." Ishizu's tone took on a sense of urgency that wasn't lost on him. "With each day that passes, he grows more powerful. If you don't go after him, he'll come after you." When Seto still looked reluctant, she dropped her gaze and added quietly, "He's threatened your brother before, hasn't he?" Seto's eyes widened with shock; he hadn't thought of that before. "Noah Kaiba often speaks for its own sake, but those threats weren't empty."

"I guess I don't have much choice then." If offense was the best form of defense, then he would need to enter the tournament in order to go after Noah. The tournament hadn't been announced yet, but it would be soon, and he planned on registering as soon as he could.

"Good luck."

"Thanks." There was so much more that he wanted to know, that he wanted to ask her, but his lunch hour was almost over and he needed to get back to work. "We should meet again some time."

"I would like that." She smiled, and it was sincere. Seto doubted that Ishizu was capable of faking emotions at all, given that her face was so candidly expressive. Or maybe she was just as good of a liar as he was.


	8. Campaign

The Battle City Tournament was announced the following week, but Seto had already informed his friends—Joey, Ryou, Yugi, Marik, and Anzu—of the danger they were facing. Joey, Ryou, and Yugi promised to enter the tournament and help him take down Noah, while Marik and Anzu promised to be there to support their friends no matter what.

"Hey Marik, don't you have a dueling deck of your own, though?" Yugi had asked. He knew that he did, because Ryou and Yugi had helped him put it together at the Game Shop.

"Ah, well, I'm not quite ready for competitive play yet," Marik had replied with a coral blush. "I still need more practice before I'm anywhere near ready for a tournament."

Schools were let out, and though Seto wasn't let off work, he took a few days off anyways. Mai was in town, as well as Bandit Keith—the cheater that Seto had dueled on Pegasus' island. The four friends—Yugi, Seto, Joey, and Ryou—had all received formal invitations to join the tournament, probably because of their rankings in Duelist Kingdom. Knowing that Noah Kaiba was out to get him, Seto didn't feel comfortable leaving Mokuba at home with Serenity, so Mokuba would be staying with him at all times. Amane wanted to see her brother duel, so she tagged along on the condition that she always stay with someone who could interpret for her.

The night before the tournament began, Ryou couldn't sleep, so he crept down to the basement where he could resume work on his models. It tended to calm him and slow down his mind when he needed it. Ever since he'd started modelling again, he'd felt an inexplicable drive to keep going and never stop. A flurry of character, plot, and terrain ideas had been swirling in his mind ever since his birthday, and those ideas were just starting to take shape, just like the lumps of clay that began as amorphous lumps in his hands but slowly transformed into wizards, monsters, and warriors. It truly felt like a muse was whispering the ideas into his mind, inspiring him to create a whole new cast of characters on paper before he forgot his ideas.

* * *

"Hey Ryou," Yugi greeted him the next morning as the Bakura siblings approached the line of teenagers that spilled outside the shop where duelists were officially registering for the tournament and picking up their duel disks. Duelists who were officially _invited_ got their duel disks for free, but that didn't stop others from entering too. "We saved you a spot in line."

"Hi Amane!" Mokuba greeted as well, waving one small hand at his self-proclaimed girlfriend.

"Thanks guys." Ryou looked mildly frazzled, but nonetheless pleasant. "I was up late last night and didn't get up quite as early as I'd expected."

"That's fine, nothin' important's happened yet." Joey scratched the back of his head, blond hair helplessly scruffy.

"Mai was here earlier," Seto informed Ryou, looking out of place with his tense posture and mirthless expression. "She already registered."

"Marik's not here yet?"

"I'm sure he'll be here soon," Anzu assured. "He was really looking forward to seeing you duel in another tournament, so I'm sure he wouldn't miss this." Anzu knew that Ryou was still nervous about Marik living with his family—not because Ryou had any concerns about Marik's siblings themselves, but because he'd gotten used to having Marik around and always being there to guide him when he needed it. He was afraid that Marik would be lost without him, quite literally.

They waited in line together for almost twenty minutes and received their duel disks without incident. Ryou was just trying to fasten his to his left arm when Marik appeared.

He was walking calmly, hands in the pockets of his sleeveless heather grey hoodie, until he saw them. His face cracked into a wide grin and one hand shot high into the air to wave at them.

"Hey guys!" he called out enthusiastically.

He _almost_ dashed out across the street without looking, but to Ryou's relief, he _did_ check to make sure no cars were coming before he crossed.

"Hey! I was afraid you weren't gonna make it," Ryou admitted with relief as Marik joined them.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Marik took Ryou's free hand in his as soon as Ryou finished securing the duel disk to his arm, making Ryou blush a little with embarrassment, but he didn't let go.

"So what now?" Yugi asked. "The tournament officially starts in twenty-five minutes."

"We split up," Seto answered automatically, his eyes scanning the duelists that swirled around them. "We spread out now so when the dueling starts, we don't get too close to each other and crowd the territory. As soon as one of us qualifies, we let each other know. Same thing if one of us gets knocked out."

"Alright, sounds fair."

They all agreed to those terms, and were just about to split up—Mokuba with Seto, Anzu with Yugi, Amane and Marik with Ryou, and Joey on his own—when Mokuba coughed, and it sounded bad enough that his friends looked concerned.

"You have your inhaler with you, right?" Seto asked quietly, receiving a sheepish look from his brother.

"I _might_ have forgotten it." Mokuba looked truly remorseful, and Seto couldn't help but sigh.

"Mokuba—"

"Don't worry about it," Anzu interjected, putting a hand on the child's shoulder. "I'll take him home to get it and bring him back, no problem."

"Uh, I-I think I left it at Joey's house when I was hanging out with Serenity last night." Mokuba spared a brief glance with his brother, the brunette looking back at him with approval. He was clever enough to lie for himself when he needed to.

"Okay, sounds like a plan. We'll be back before you've even finished your first duel."

Seto watched Mokuba and Anzu as they left, but only for a few moments before he turned back to the others.

"I guess I'll see you guys on the other side." Joey lifted a hand to wave as he stepped away, prepared to split off from the group. "Good luck!"

"You too!" Seto called back and went in the opposite direction. Yugi split off too, leaving Ryou and company in the central square, which was a decent enough place to start. He'd likely get a chance to pick off some of the weaker duelists this way, and he didn't mind plucking the low-hanging fruit. Locator cards were locator cards, no matter the skill level of your opponent.

Yugi's first duel was against a shady figure with a dark cloak and a malicious look in his eyes. He put up quite a decent fight, but his deck was so loaded with pieces of Exodia that he couldn't draw what he needed. Yugi, on the other hand, was able to assemble the precise pieces that he needed. After Seto had informed him of the risk they faced in this new tournament, Yugi had told his grandfather—who, like Dr. Bakura, chose to believe the teenagers' stories of ancient spirits and Shadow Magic—and the seasoned gamer had given his grandson the five pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One that he'd secretly collected years ago. Yugi had added them to his deck, and now they helped him to win his first locator card and his first duel of the tournament.

Ryou's first duel was against Rex Raptor, who was unable to withstand Ryou's magic-based strategy with his emphasis on strong monsters. His second duel, however, was with a shady figure (much like Yugi's opponent, except this one didn't have a dark cloak, was bald, and had more piercings than Ryou had ever seen on a single person before). While Ryou managed to defeat him after a difficult struggle, things quickly took a turn for the worse afterward. He turned to look at his sister and ask her how she liked watching the duel, but she wasn't there.

"Amane?" he called, turning to look in the other direction. He knew that calling her name wouldn't do any good, since she couldn't hear him, but he couldn't help it. Panic set in rather quickly as Marik began to catch on. "Did you see where she went?"

"No, I'm sorry." Marik felt guilty because he should have kept a closer eye on Ryou's sister while Ryou was too busy with his duel.

"This is bad," Ryou muttered as he turned in a circle, trying to visually locate his sister in the crowds gathered watching the other duels, and the dissipating one that had been watching them. "This is really bad..." His deaf little sister had gone missing in broad daylight in a busy part of the city. The guilt and fear that quickly consumed Ryou was overwhelming. "Mom's gonna kill me." His defeated opponent began to chuckle, drawing the attention of both teens.

"If you want to see your sister again," he said with an inscrutably vile expression. "You'll go to the docks at the harbor."

"What?" Ryou's hands had started to shake, and Marik reached down to grip one tightly. "What are you talking about? What do you know about this?"

"My employer has an interest in your Millennium Item—"

Unconsciously, Ryou's free hand went to his chest, where the ring rested between his skin and his blue- and white-striped shirt. He always wore it _under_ his shirt, not wanting to draw any attention to himself by having the golden artifact flashing around in plain sight. Seto did the same with his Millennium Rod by tucking it through his belt at his back, where it was hidden by his coat, and even Ishizu kept her necklace out of sight by obscuring it with scarves, but Yugi didn't have much choice but to wear the puzzle in an obvious manner.

"—And if you can use your power to defeat the opponent he has chosen for you, he will release your sister."

"How do you know about the Millennium Ring?" Ryou demanded, trying not to sound as scared as he felt. He'd never imagined that owning the item would put his little sister in this kind of danger, and it made him want to wash his hands of it entirely.

"That's not important," Strings said, repeating the words that Noah Kaiba was feeding him through his wireless earpiece. "Be there in a half hour, or you might not see her again." Strings threw down his two locator cards and a monster card—the rare card that he'd put up as his ante for the duel—before fleeing the scene with surprisingly speedy parkour.

Marik walked forward, picked up the cards, and tucked them into his pocket as he turned back to Ryou, who seemed to shocked to do anything just yet.

"Come on." Marik grabbed Ryou's hand and broke into a run, pulling him along.

"What are you—" Ryou stumbled a bit, but found his stride after several seconds.

"We're going to the harbor. If that's the only way to get your sister back, then that's what we'll do!"

"We should call the police!" Ryou protested, tugging Marik into a left turn, since Marik really didn't know where he was going.

"We don't know who we're dealing with, though," Marik pointed out as they kept pace with each other, two pairs of sneakered feet pounding on the pavement like staccato heartbeats. "That might make things worse."

"We don't know that."

"But can you really risk it?" Marik asked, glancing at Ryou briefly out of the corner of his eye.

"No."

They ran together with only the sound of their heavy breathing and syncopated steps between them. All Ryou could think about was Amane's well-being, and how he'd failed her as her big brother. They weren't watching where they were going, not as carefully as they should have been, and almost ran into a convertible that had just stopped for a red light.

"Hey, watch where you're—" Mai stopped mid shout as she recognized the teens. "Wait, I know you. Ryou and Marik, right? We met during Duelist Kingdom."

"Yes, I remember," Ryou panted. "If you'll excuse us, we're in a bit of a hurry." Ryou started to tug Marik with him as they went around the front of the blond's car.

"What's the rush?" she asked casually, combing through the curls of her blond ponytail with one hand.

"Someone kidnapped his little sister," Marik answered, pulling Ryou to a halt, although it seemed to irk the white-haired teen. "We have to go to the docks to try and win her back."

"Say no more. Hop in and I'll drive you." Mai nodded towards her empty seats, and Ryou's anxious expression melted into one of gratitude.

"Thanks, Mai." Ryou took the passenger seat while Marik hopped into the back just before the light changed to green.

"Remember, I'm not from around here, so you'll have to give me directions," Mai reminded him. "And some of the roads are closed down for the tournament, so we may have to take an indirect route."

"Okay, you'll want to take a left at the next intersection," Ryou instructed, eyes open for any road blocks. His heart was still pounding too fast, but he didn't have the time to think about it. He just needed to find his sister.

* * *

"You can wait here," Mokuba said as they approached the front door of Joey's house. "It'll only take me a minute for me to run in and get it."

"Okay, I'll be right here."

Anzu pulled out her phone and started skimming through the most recent messages from a group chat she was in with her fellow cheerleaders at school. The sound of a crash from inside a few minutes later startled her enough to make her look up.

"Mokuba?" she called out hesitantly. "Is everything okay in there?"

She didn't hear an immediate answer, but as she reached for the door handle, she heard an outcry that chilled her.

"Anzu, help!"

It was undeniably Mokuba's voice.

Anzu rushed inside, but by the time she found the room where the side-table had been knocked over and the glass lamp broken on the hardwood floor, the windows were wide open and Mokuba was gone. His inhaler was on the floor, and as she walked forward to pick it up, she heard the distant roar of an engine. She ran outside just in time to see a glossy black van turn the corner.

Mokuba had been kidnapped.

Anzu whipped out her phone and pulled up Seto's number in her contacts.

"Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up..." She whispered to herself, still standing on the sidewalk staring at the spot where the van had disappeared.

"Hey Anzu. What's up? You're not back yet, are you?"

"Please don't hate me," she burst out, starting to feel the hysteria kicking in.

"What happened?"

"He was inside, and I was outside, and I should have gone in with him, but I didn't, and now he's gone, and I'm so sorry—"

"Gone?" He sounded angry, which made Anzu wither a little. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"They took him, and I don't know who they were, because I didn't see them, but they were inside, and I don't know what to do! I'm so sorry..."

"Anzu, listen to me." Seto still sounded angry, but at least it was a calm anger. "This is what you're going to do. You're going to take a deep breath and calm down. Then you're going to hang up with me and call the police. You'll tell them about the break-in and the kidnapping and answer any questions they have, okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm on my way."


	9. Endangered

Joey took down an obnoxious bug duelist—hadn't he been named the regional champion just this summer?—after an arduous duel. He was in the process of looking for his next opponent when Seto ran into him—quite literally.

"Hey! What's the rush?" the blond asked light-heartedly.

"Someone broke into your house and took Mokuba."

"What?!"

"Come on!" Seto grabbed Joey's hand an continued to run in the direction of his house. "We can't afford to waste any time!"

"How do you know what happened?"

"Anzu called me. I told her to call the police."

"Do you think Kaiba—?"

"Yes." Seto didn't even need to hear the whole question. "But I'm still hoping he's not involved." He released Joey's hand as he skidded on the pavement to make a sharp turn.

"Halt!"

The two teens stumbled to an abrupt stop as their path was blocked by two robed, masked figures, one of them holding up his hand, arm extended, palm facing them.

"Get outta my way, or I'll clobber ya!" Joey threatened immediately. "I don' got time for this!"

"We know where your brother is, Seto." The man dropped his arm and smirked as Seto grit his teeth. "We'll tell you where he is if you can beat us in a duel."

"That's ridiculous!" Seto snapped in aggravation. "Tell me _now_ , damn it!"

 _Steady_ , Seth murmured in a cautious tone. _Be careful; we don't know what they're willing to do if we don't cooperate._

 _You think they work for Noah._ It was a statement, almost an accusation.

 _You do too_ , Seth pointed out.

 _Yes, but your agreement practically confirms it_.

"We don't have to tell you anything," the other anonymous figured retorted in a disgustingly snarky tone.

"We could turn you over to the police," Seto threatened, Seth's calm presence washing over him like a cool draft of air. Seto was too angry on his own to think clearly, but Seth helped him maintain mental clarity. "I'm sure your boss wouldn't like _that_."

"You'd be losing your only lead to your little brother if you did that, though."

"If we beat you and you don't tell me where he is, I'm turning you in." Seto extended his left arm forward, activating his duel disk. "I accept your challenge." He glanced at Joey and saw him doing the same.

"We're in this together, whether you like it or not."

"Thanks."

"Then let's shuffle our decks and let the duel begin!" one of their opponents declared as they, too, activated their duel disks.

"Mind telling us your names so we at least know who we're fighting?" Seto asked as he removed his deck from the port and shuffled it.

"I am Lumis," the taller one said.

"I am Umbra," the shorter one followed promptly.

"And this will be your last duel of the tournament!"

"In your dreams," Seto retorted. "Let's duel!"

The duel was surprisingly brief, not even lasting long enough for a single player to get a second turn. The coin flip determined the order of turns: Joey, Lumis, Seto, Umbra. Joey put a monster in defense mode, then Lumis attacked Seto's life-points directly, sneaking in a direct hit before the brunette had a chance to defend.

Seto drew his card and smirked. "I summon Lord of Dragons, in attack mode." He placed the card on the scanner and placed two cards in the magic zone. "And I equip it with two Flutes Of Summoning Dragon, allowing me to summon any four dragon-type monsters from my deck or hand!"

"What?!" Lumis exclaimed, his partner equally perplexed and terrified.

"And I choose to summon my three Blue-Eyes White Dragons"—the voice recognition software in the duel disk understood him perfectly and ejected those specific cards from his deck—"and Luster Dragon #2!" He seized the four cards and spread them across the card readers, the dragons appearing one at a time with a burst of dazzling light.

"That's impossible!" Umbra shouted.

"Then watch me do the impossible." Seto smirked, actually enjoying this. "Two Blue-Eyes, attack Umbra's life-points directly with white lightning attack! Luster Dragon #2, destroy Lumis' Masked Sorcerer! Blue-Eyes, finish him off!"

When the dazzling light generated by the holograms finally dissipated, it was clear to all of them that the duel was over. Seto started collecting the cards he used and putting them back into his deck, along with the cards in his hand.

"But, how, what—" Umbra stammered.

"Now, didn't you promise to tell me something if we won?" Seto crossed his arms as Joey reset his duel disk as well, equally dumbfounded by their duel.

"H-Here are your locator cards, and our rarest cards."

Six cards were shoved in his direction, but Joey grabbed them instead. Seto grabbed Umbra by the front of his shirt, eyes narrowed in a glare that threatened violence.

"Where's Mokuba?"

"He's at the harbor!" Umbris burst out. "At the loading docks!"

That was all he needed to hear. Seto dropped him and took off, Joey hard on his heels. He'd pocketed the cards they'd won, intent on sharing them with Seto as soon as he had a chance.

"You stacked your deck, didn't you?" Joey asked once they were far enough from the two thugs.

"They made two mistakes," Seto panted. "First, they aided and abetted my brother's abduction. Second, they let me shuffle my own deck."

"So you cheated."

"You said it, not me."

Joey honestly couldn't blame him.

* * *

Mokuba was trying to find a way out of the warehouse he'd been locked into. There was a single window at the top of the back wall, and so far he'd been stacking cardboard boxes in an attempt to build a set of stairs that would facilitate his escape. Just as he was tumbling off of a short tower of boxes, he heard the sound of the door's deadbolt being unlocked. Mokuba landed on the ground with an "oomph!" some of the empty boxes landing on top of him.

"Get in there. Go on!"

Mokuba pushed aside the boxes in time to see the man shove Amane forward into the room, riling the twelve-year-old's temper.

"Hey, you can't treat her like that!" he shouted, jumping to his feet, surprising Amane with his presence and the guard with his outburst. "She can't help it that she can't hear you! She's deaf!"

The guard scowled at his prisoners and wordlessly closed the door, locking it once more. Amane ran over to Mokuba and hugged him, looking frightened.

"We're going to be okay, Amane," Mokuba assured when she'd released him. "I've figured out a way to escape, but I'm going to need your help."

"Whatever you need, I'm here for you," she signed to him with a hopeful smile.

* * *

"Wait, hold up!"

"We can't wait, Joey," Seto snapped back, but the blond grabbed a hold of his coat and pulled him to a stop. The two teens stood panting for a few moments before the brunette asked, "What is it, Joey?"

"Do you hear that?"

They listened together, and identified the sound of a voice calling without words. The voice of a little girl. No sooner had they identified the sound than Amane had stumbled into Joey's sight, behind Seto.

"Amane?" Joey observed in surprise, the little girl already scampering over to them with a frightened expression.

"What are you doing here? Where's Ryou?" Seto asked before realizing that he wouldn't be able to understand any answer she gave them. She tried signing to them anyways, but her brother's friends just looked confused.

"Come on, you'll stay with us until we find your brother," Joey assured her.

"Here." Seto extended a hand to Amane as he crouched down and let her climb onto his back. He stood up again, holding Amane securely before they took off at a run once more. They only turned a few more corners before they found what they were looking for.

On one section of the docks, there stood Ryou with his duel disk, face hidden by his hair as it was tugged by the wind coming off the water. The docks themselves formed the border of an odd square with an anchor suspended above the center of the square of choppy water by the arm of a large mechanized crane used for unloading freighters. And from that anchor hung two chains, one to the side of the docks opposite Ryou and to the other side...

"Thank goodness you're here," Mai said from where she was leaning against her parked car, a fretful-looking Marik standing near her. "I was just about to call you, Joey. You'll never believe what—"

"Amane!" Ryou lifted his face when his friends appeared with his little sister safely in their care. "You're alright!"

Amane started to squirm, and Seto quickly set her down, he and Joey approaching Marik and Mai as she ran towards her brother.

"Stop right there!" The voice came from a robed figure standing on the far corner of the dock. He'd been obscured by now in the shadow of the shipping containers that walled off this portion of the docks on either side. "Don't come any closer, or your little friend's going to suffer for it!" He pulled a smaller figure out from behind him.

"Mokuba!" Seto was relieved that he now knew where his brother was, but furious that he was now being held hostage at gunpoint with his wrists bound together and a blindfold covering his eyes to keep him from trying to run away.

"Seto!" Mokuba experienced only relief, knowing that Seto would save him. His brother had found him, so everything was going to be okay now.


	10. Anchor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never had the opportunity to bring it up, but in this story, Joey's dad is from America (hence the surname AND the accent) while his mom is Japanese, just like how Ryou's dad is Japanese (hence the surname), but Ryou's mom is from England (hence the accent), but her parents are from Japan (hence her first name).

"Shut up."

Seto turned his gaze to glare at their adversary.

"This is what's going to happen: you"—he pointed to Seto—"are going to stand over there and chain yourself to the anchor, just like he is. Then the two of you are going to duel, and I'm going to start a timer for twenty minutes. When your opponent's life-points reach zero, the box in front of you will open, giving you the key you need to free yourself. The loser surrenders their life and their Millennium Item. If the duel isn't over by the end of twenty minutes, then you both lose: the anchor will drop when the timer goes off either way, so if you can't pick a winner by then, you'll both get dragged to the bottom of the harbor. This kid"—he said, gesturing to Mokuba—"only goes free once a winner has been declared. If the spectators try to interfere or call anyone for help, the kid gets punished. Any questions?"

"Just a few." Seto had, as the man spoke, followed his directions and was now standing across the pier from wide-eyed Ryou, who looked more anxious by the moment. "For starters, who are you and why are you doing this?" Seto's tone was a balanced blend of cocky confidence and unimpressed intelligence. "If all you wanted was the Millennium Items, you would have just stolen them. If you wanted us dead, you could have just killed us. Neither of those can be your main objective, because this is a ridiculously complicated death-trap. It seems unnecessary to me," Seto scoffed, the stranger gritting his teeth as he glared at the teenager. "Unless you have some obscure objective in mind that makes sense only to you. Or, rather, your boss, because you're _clearly_ a mere lackey taking orders from someone else. Care to let us in on that little secret before we get started?"

Before the so-called lackey could respond, Joey cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "Sick burn, man!" Mai whacked him on the arm for making light of such a serious situation, but Seto smirked in appreciation.

"Shut up, you insolent brat! Just get the duel started."

The man's response didn't address any of Seto's questions, only confirming the brunette's theory that he was indeed a mere grunt working in the employ of their true enemy.

"Wait. I have a proposition for you." Seto's serious expression didn't give anything away, but he looked less scornful now. "If we _both_ win, then everyone goes free: we keep our items,—and our lives—you let Mokuba go, and you leave us alone."

"The chances of that happening are one in a million." Mokuba's captor was looking a bit smug now.

"If you're so confident that it won't happen, then you have nothing to lose by agreeing to it."

"Fine, I'll allow that, but only because you'll be that much more crushed when you fail."

"Alright then." Seto turned his head to face Ryou, though he was still addressing the other man. "We'll play along with your little game, just let us get our decks ready first." Ryou gave him a small nod of agreement; Seto may be the vocal one between them, but he spoke for them both, and he wasn't going to attach Ryou's name to a verbal contract without his consent.

"You have two minutes to ready your decks, then the duel will commence."

Marik could tell that Ryou looked slightly calmer now—Seto redefining the terms of the duel gave them a chance at true victory—but he was still a bundle of nerves too anxious to think as clearly as he needed to right now. Marik wasn't the only one who noticed, though. Seth did too.

" _Talk to him in my language,_ " Seth prompted his other half. " _That way_ he _won't know what you're doing_."

 _And tell him what?_ Seto asked as he glanced up from his cards for the split second it took to take in Ryou's expression, then returned to shuffling cards from his main deck to his side deck and vice versa.

" _Reassure him, advise him. You two can win this together if you're using the same strategy_."

"Remember, Ryou," Seto called out in Hieratic Egyptian, not even looking up from his cards this time. "If we're both going to win, we both have to lose, and there's more than one way to do that."

"Losing all your life-points, or running out of cards in your main deck," Ryou replied promptly in the same tongue.

"Aim for one or both strategies as best you can, and I will too. So long as we both play to lose, we should be okay."

"Alright," Ryou agreed with a nod. "I trust you."

Marik was the only spectator who understood their exchange, but Joey could tell that Ryou was more focused now. Their two minutes ran out much too quickly, but Seto knew that he was ready. He could only hope that Ryou was too.

The timer began, and so did the duel, both teens playing to lose. Every monster was summoned in face-up attack mode, every trap activated cost the user life-points or cards from their deck, and every attack was absorbed willingly. Seto remained focused and calm, and his own composure helped Ryou to stay calm too. Mokuba remained silent, yet helplessly agitated for the entire duel. But who could blame him? His brother's life was at stake.

They took turns in record speed, summoning and defeating monsters faster than ever before. They were both playing to both strategies as well they could, Seto using Card of Destruction although he gained little from it, and Ryou playing Chain Energy though it hurt him equally. Given the restrictions of this particular duel, he felt better playing the card _because_ it hurt them both equally, giving each of them a degree of control over how many life-points they lost each turn. Even so, keeping them dead even was impossible. Seto was trying to solve this problem like it was a puzzle, but without knowing Ryou's cards, it was just too difficult.

Ryou played spell and trap cards like Skull Invitation, Magical Thorn, Overpowering Eye, and Just Desserts that punished the opponent (or sometimes both players) for performing basic game mechanics, while Seto played spells and traps cards like Raimei, Sparks, Hinotoma, and Meteor of Destruction to directly attack his opponent's life-points. The lower their life-points got and the more time that passed, the more cautious they each had to become. They were just past the two-minute mark when Seto's cellphone vibrated in Joey's hand.

"Who is it?" Mai asked curiously, eagerly accepting any distraction from the grim duel.

"It's Anzu." Joey answered the call and put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Joey?" She sounded irked. "Is Seto there? I need to talk to him."

"Uh, he's kinda busy right now. A little tied up, you could say."

Mai whacked him on the shoulder for making such an awful joke at a time like this.

"The police need to speak with him about Mokuba and the people who broke into your house, so could you please tell him to get over here?!" Anzu's anxiety and hysteria levels were currently higher than Joey'd ever seen them before.

"Then you should tell them to get down here now, because we found Mokuba and the creep who took him," Joey answered, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard by said creep. "We're at the loading docks by the harbor, you know, by all those warehouses. Tell them to hurry, because at this rate, either Ryou or Seto is gonna be sleepin' with the fishes!"

"Wait, what?!" Anzu squeaked, but Joey hung up then. It was too difficult to explain all of this to her over the phone. With any luck, she had enough sense to do as Joey'd asked and get the cops down here immediately.

"Who was that on the phone, Joey?" Seto called out without looking at his friend, still studying the cards in his hand.

"Just Anzu; she was wondering where you were, because apparently you'd agreed to meet her somewhere," Joey answered nonchalantly. When Seto met his gaze, though, Joey's stern look communicated the rest of his message: _help is on the way, so just run out the clock_.

They'd reached a stalemate, a place where neither of them was entirely sure of how to continue from this point. They both had fewer than a thousand life-points (Ryou at 400, Seto at 900), and because of Ryou's continuous spells and continuous traps, the very act of playing a card and ending his turn would forfeit the match to Seto.

It was a quiet couple of minutes as Seto brooded over his cards and Ryou watched the timer count every passing second. When it hit thirty, he finally lost his resolve.

"Just attack me, Seto." The two friends locked gazes over the water and the holograms. "There's no time left."

"Not a chance," the brunette replied firmly as he drew his next card. His face lit up with a smirk as his spine straightened unconsciously and he turned to glance at the thug still holding his brother. "It's over. You can tell your boss that I'll be coming for him as soon as I'm done with this ridiculous puzzle he roped us into." His eyes glinted with reflected sunlight, but they seemed to glow with a light of their own. "Tell Noah Kaiba that nobody who threatens my family and friends ever gets away with it."

When Seto's expression changed, Ryou had dared to hope that he'd drawn a card that would save them. Now, brown eyes locked with blue, Ryou's attention focused entirely on Seto to see if he did, indeed, have a life-line.

"I lay one card face down and end my turn. This duel is over on the next turn."

Seto's life-points dropped from 900 to 400 as a result of Chain Energy, then looked at Ryou meaningfully.

"I draw—" Ryou began, sliding off the top card of his deck and adding it to his hand as he maintained eye contact.

"I activate my trap card, Ring of Destruction!" The holographic card revealed itself, and its familiar animation appeared before them. "And I target your Plaguespreader Zombie."

Just like that, with one trap card, Seto simultaneously wiped out both duelists' life-points, and with just under a minute to spare. The world blurred as they both rushed to free themselves. The thug's hand on Mokuba, and the child removed his own blindfold before pulling out of the man's grasp. Mokuba threw himself at his brother, almost knocking him over.

"You're okay!" the child exclaimed, hugging his brother around the neck as he tried to hold back tears of relief.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Seto murmured, lifting a hand to Mokuba's head and patting it reassuringly as they embraced.

"Hey, he's getting away!" Marik shouted, pointing in the direction of the thug who was running off and drawing the others' attention to him too. He didn't get very far, though, before Mai dashed out in front of him, pulling something out of her purse.

"Take that, you bastard!" she shouted as she aimed her pepper spray at his face. He yelled curses, saying that it burned his eyes, and Mai took advantage of that moment to give him a proper kick in the crotch.

Joey, Ryou, Marik, and Seto simultaneously flinched.

"That's what you get for kidnapping children, you horrible man!" she shouted at him as he sank to the ground, the distant sound of police sirens getting louder as the cars came closer. While the others were distracted, Joey turned to look at Seto and gave him a small nudge.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Seto answered quietly, giving his friend a slight nod.

Once the police showed up, it was a simple matter of taking statements, apprehending the perpetrators, and letting the teens know that the police would be in touch should they need anymore information. As the police cars departed from the scene, Ryou let out a small sigh and placed a hand on Amane's shoulder. "I'm going to take my sister home. If Noah Kaiba really was behind that, then it's just too dangerous to let her hang around us anymore."

"That sounds like a wise decision," Seto said, nodding his agreement even as Mokuba slipped his smaller hand into his brother's empty one in search of a reassuring squeeze. Ryou could take Amane home to her mother, but Mokuba wasn't safe home alone or with anyone else. No, the safest place for Mokuba was at his brother's side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! This chapter took way too long! Really, I had most of it done early on (and then I had to rewrite some parts because I changed my mind about somethings). The delay was caused by school and other things taking up my time. ^-^;; The next chapter should be up in a month or so, and then I'll try to make up for lost time over the summer to get us through S2!


	11. Twist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SOOOOO sorry that this update took so long. Initially, I was able to update this series no less frequently than one chapter a month. I had a rough couple months, though, with finals in May, and my anxiety getting the worst it's ever been, and my grandmother passing away. This series/story happened to be one of the ones that fell through the cracks, and I'm sorry, but I should be back to my regular updating schedule for it now that I've gotten this chapter done.
> 
> Thank you for your patience, and enjoy the cliffhanger!

"You don't think I'm too late to still have a chance at qualifying for the finals, do you?" Ryou asked anxiously as he and Marik walked back towards the city's center, having left Amane at home with his mother.

"Not at all. I'm sure there will be plenty of people still dueling. Dozens of people entered the tournament, after all. Surely they haven't eliminated each other that quickly."

"Yeah." Ryou breathed a small sigh, eyes darting around the quiet side-street nervously. The kidnapping incident had him on edge, the adrenaline wearing off and leaving him shaky and uncertain.

"Hey." Marik took Ryou's hand and pulled him to a stop, his friend turning to look at him curiously. "I'm really proud of you, Ryou. You did well in that duel, and I know it must have been hard for you."

Ryou blushed at the sudden praise, eyes modestly downcast as Marik's sudden, bright smile blinded him. Unable to resist the allure of his bashful boyfriend, Marik stepped closer and placed his hand on Ryou's cheek, angling his face slightly upwards so he could steal a small kiss. At least, he intended for it to be small and short, but when Ryou's soft lips molded to his, yielding yet eager, Marik accepted the invitation. He dropped his hand from Ryou's face so he could place both hands on his thin waist and pull him closer. Marik was never shy about being public with his displays of affection, but Ryou had taught him early on where to draw the line and why. This kiss technically violated the terms of their agreement, but they were the only ones on the sidewalk here, and Ryou wasn't complaining in the slightest.

"Ah!" Marik jerked back as searing pain ripped through his upper arm. The handle of a small knife was protruding from his arm, the sight of blood reminding him of things best forgotten. It made his stomach clench, but he  _truly_  felt nauseous when he saw a pale hand reach up to pull it out. Marik clamped a hand down over the wound, his fingers now slick with his own hot blood as he lifted his eyes to the twisted, savage features of—not Ryou, that was certain. The youth was just then turning away to shove the knife into the flower-box outside a neighbor's window. He casually dusted his hands off and turned around as the spirit returned control to his host, who gasped at once before rushing over to the Egyptian teen.

"Marik, what happened?" He reached towards the wound, then snatched his hands away. "Should I call an ambulance?"

"No, I'm fine," Marik assured with a half-hearted smile even as the color drained from his face.

"You're not fine, Marik!" Ryou snapped, too busy panicking to know what to do. When Marik started to lose his balance, though, he lurched into action, catching him and helping him sit on the ground before tying his handkerchief around the cut as tightly as he could. The pressure would help stop the bleeding. That's how that's supposed to work, right? It must have hurt when he bandaged the wound, but Marik didn't make a sound, merely grimaced in silence.

Just as Ryou was tying the final knot, his phone started ringing. He wiped his fingers on his jeans and was about to ignore the call when he saw that it was Ishizu. He answered.

"Marik's injured."

She already knew.

"Yeah…"

"Sugoroku will be there any moment now to take him to the hospital."

"Thank you, Ishizu." Ryou sighed in relief. Those powers of Ishizu's were quite helpful in a crisis.

"Please don't blame yourself for this, Ryou."

"Shouldn't I, though?" His voice broke. "I'm the one who left him alone and allowed this to happen."

As he grit his teeth against the pain, Marik wondered just how Ryou had perceived the incident. What explanation had the spirit planted in his friend's mind?

Ishizu was quiet for a moment before she answered, "Blame the man who stabbed him. I'll meet him at the hospital. Continue competing in the tournament. It's what Marik would want."

"But—"

"Will you let those men get away with kidnapping your sister?"

Ryou couldn't argue with that. Noah Kaiba was a criminal at large, and they were the only people who could stop him.

"Once he's at the hospital, we'll report it to the police."

"Okay." Ryou was too shaken to think clearly right now.

"Good luck, and be safe."

"Thanks. You too."

* * *

The remaining qualifying duels for the Battle City Finals blurred together in Seto's mind. He was on edge the whole time, but he was equally distracted, and unless he perceived an immediate threat, he was wrapped up in his thoughts.

He hadn't expected all the finalists to be his acquaintances, nor had he expected Marik to get mysteriously injured while Ryou was trying to qualify—and Seto couldn't rule out Noah Kaiba as an indirect cause of his injury. He also hadn't expected Ishizu to be a duelist, let alone a duelist good enough to qualify for the quarterfinals. Seto suspected her of cheating with the Millennium Necklace, but under the circumstances, he couldn't condemn her for it.

Milling about in some kind of reception or ante-room of the blimp with tables of complimentary food, the finalists waited for the quarterfinals to begin.

Each duelist had received a numbered ID card when they checked in at the KaibaCorp Stadium.

Duelist #1: Noah Kaiba, the mastermind behind the entire tournament, ensured that he qualified before anyone else.

Duelist #2: Mai Valentine, an old adversary from Duelist Kingdom, was the oldest and most experienced duelist here at twenty-four.

Duelist #3: Duke Devlin might prove to be the dark horse of the tournament, having never competed professionally before, yet qualifying with ease.

Duelist #4: Yugi Mutou, the champion of Duelist Kingdom, would be dueling to protect the title "King of Games."

Duelist #5: Seto fought to win back the Egyptian god-card from a sociopathic felon and to regain the title of champion he'd held only briefly.

Duelist #6: Joey Wheeler, the scrappy underdog, dueled beside his best friends for the same cause—and for the rare cards he acquired with each victory.

Duelist #7: Ryou Bakura, the Duelist Kingdom finalist who'd lost his nerve under pressure, now had a shot at redemption.

Duelist #8: Ishizu Ishtar, a complete unknown, was the last to appear, with her injured brother in tow.

They were all concerned about Marik's health—Ryou and Ishizu especially—but he promised that if he felt unwell, he would tell them right away and that he currently felt fine. The strangest thing was that Marik didn't seem to know how it happened. Either he didn't know, or he didn't want to tell.

Both were concerning.

"Are you not going to eat anything?"

Ishizu's soft voice tugged Seto out of his own musings and back to the present.

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to take care of yourself," she reminded him, voice soft and quiet as her eyes found Mokuba, talking cheerfully with Joey across the room.

"I do. But that makes me wonder if Marik's truly fit to be here." Ishizu looked slightly uncomfortable now that he'd brought it up, but that didn't stop him from asking, "If he was only discharged from the hospital an hour ago, shouldn't he be home resting?"

"If he looks like he needs to rest, I'll make him, despite any protests he may voice." Seto still looked dubious, so she continued, "They wouldn't have discharged him unless they were confident he was healthy enough to do so." Ishizu didn't need to explain herself to Seto, as if his approval held any weight in this situation, but still, she didn't want him thinking ill of her or her decision-making.

Before their conversation could progress any further, the duelists were called to gather around a lottery machine—one that would yield perfectly randomized results in pairing off duelists for the next round of eliminations. A KaibaCorp employee, introduced to them as Roland, operated the machine and read the results: "Duelist #2 and Duelist #7 will face off in the first duel of the Battle City Quarterfinals!"

"Me? I'm dueling first?" Ryou looked stunned to have had his number drawn already. He'd expected to watch at least one duel before it was his turn to battle for a place in the semifinals.

"This is going to be a walk in the park." Mai smirked, twirling her thick ponytail around one finger. "Prepare to be crushed, kid."

"Don't think I'm going to let you walk away with the duel  _that_  easily, Mai." Ryou tried to retort back, but he sounded nervous. He remembered how he'd choked up at the Duelist Kingdom semifinals, an embarrassing duel that Mai herself had witnessed. No wonder she thought he was weak.

Occupied with his thoughts, Ryou almost missed Seto's words of encouragement and Marik's warm smile. He almost forgot to smile back at them before he followed Roland's directions to the elevator that would take him to the dueling platform. Too anxious to appreciate the high-tech elevator or to wonder about the actual location of the duels, Ryou fidgeted with the chord around his neck keeping the golden artifact near his chest.

His deck was set, his strategy was proven, and he had friends cheering him on. Mai was talented, but so was he.

There was absolutely no reason to be worried. If he didn't advance, then one of his friends would, which would be for the best. If he couldn't defeat Mai, then he didn't deserve a chance to duel against Noah Kaiba.

As the elevator ascended, Ryou thought he could feel the air growing colder and a wave of icy calm washed over him. The tremor in his hands stopped as suddenly as it had started.

He could do this.

When the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Ryou stepped out onto the platform and was suddenly hit by a gust of strong wind. He paused for a moment, but kept walking towards his spot. Mai stood across from him, but they were separated by several meters and Roland, the moderator and referee. A quick glance showed him where the other duelists and non-duelists were standing to watch the duel.

"The first duel of the quarterfinals will be between Mai Kujaku and Ryou Bakura!" Roland announced. "Duelists, please approach the center to shuffle your opponents' deck."

The two duelists obeyed, exchanging decks and shuffling them thoroughly.

"I sure hope you've improved your dueling skills since the Duelist Kingdom finals, or this is going to be a pretty boring duel," Mai remarked casually, smirking as she returned his deck to him. They exchanged decks again, sliding them into their duel disks with ease.

Ryou laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I hope so!"

"Better or not, I want you to give it your all!" Orchid eyes glinted with excitement.

"I'll do my best!" Ryou agreed, and extended a hand to Mai. She shook it firmly, looking both amiable and competitive. Ryou thanked his lucky stars that at least this duel would be free of malice.

"Let the first duel of the Battle City Finals begin!" Roland announced, and the duelists released hands before parting to stand on their marks on opposite ends of the platform. The coin toss gave Ryou the first turn.

Ryou frowned at his starting hand, looking uncertain. "I summon Skull Servant in defense mode and end my turn," he said carefully, as if he expected to change his own mind at any moment.

"Really, is that all you've got?" Mai scoffed. "I lay one magic card face-down and summon my Amazoness Paladin in attack mode." She slapped down her cards and announced her attack on Ryou's card, sending it to the graveyard.

"Oh, oh dear," Ryou murmured with a slight frown, tapping his index finger against his bottom lip. "Good move, Mai." Though he praised his opponent, he looked discouraged. He drew a card from his deck—Effect Veiler—and added it to his hand.

"What's he doing?" Joey asked, aiming his question at Seto.

"I'm not sure yet," Seto answered thoughtfully. "I don't know how much of his deck or strategy is new."

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," Yugi added.

"Mai is obviously using an Amazoness deck," Seto continued. "It's not bad, and if properly balanced, it can be fairly strong. But it's not unbeatable. Ryou has a fighting chance."

"I set one monster in defense mode." Ryou delicately placed one monsters face-down, his expression anxious. "That ends my turn."

"If you want to have even a chance of winning," Mai called as she drew her card. "Then you're going to need to make a bold move sooner or later. Hurry up, kid, before I wipe you out."

Ryou seemed undisturbed by her words, swaying a little in place and discreetly reaching back to momentarily curl one strand of pearly hair around his finger.

"I summon Amazoness Spy, in attack mode!" The hologram brought the female warrior to life with a burst of color. "And I use its effect to summon—"

"Not so fast, Mai!" Ryou interrupted his opponent with a calm, teasing tone, almost as if he were singing the words. He waved a card from his hand between two fingers and, with a placid smile, explained, "I choose to discard Effect Veiler from my hand, negating the special effects of your Amazoness Spy." He slipped the card into his graveyard, still smiling. "That bold enough for you, Mai?"

"Well played." Mai looked smugly pleased that she'd be getting a real duel out of him. "Even so, my Amazoness Paladin gains one hundred attack points for its presence on the field." Her first card's attack points were now eighteen hundred. "And I play Amazoness Village, increasing both my monsters' attack points by two hundred," she announced, throwing the field spell card on her disk, but Ryou began clicking his tongue.

"Tut tut, Mai. Nice try, but by discarding my Ghost Ogre & Snow Rabbit card from my hand to the graveyard, I can destroy your spell card." He let out an uncharacteristically high giggle. "Too bad."

"He needs to be careful, or he'll use up all the cards in his hand during her turn," Yugi said, sounding concerned. Seto briefly glanced down at Yugi on his left, feeling concerned for a different reason.

"Continue with your turn, if you dare." Ryou smirked at his opponent, his face shifting into an expression it was unaccustomed to.

"You're not going to scare me into holding back, kid. I attack your face-down card with my Amazoness Paladin!" His monster revealed itself to be Wightprince as it was blown away and sent to his graveyard.

"Do you really think you can win a duel using monsters that have zero attack or defense points?" Mai mocked, following it with a laugh. Ryou's smirk remained, though.

"Because of Wightprince's special effect, I can send two monsters directly from my deck to the graveyard." The duel disk ejected two cards from his deck, which he slid directly into his graveyard.

"A lot of good they'll do you  _there_! Go, Amazoness Spy, attack his life-points directly!"

Mai ended her turn with her four thousand life-points in tact, leaving Ryou with thirty-two hundred life-points.

"I draw." He looked at his card, eyes lighting up with mischief. "I activate the spell card Painful Decision from my hand, letting me add a monster level four or lower to my hand from my deck if I take another card of the same name from my deck and add it to my graveyard."

"I've seen him play from the graveyard before," Seto commented unbidden. "It's not uncommon with zombie decks. He seems to have the luck of the draw on his side for now, so Mai'd better make a move in her next turn, before he gets all the cards he needs."

 _That puts two Skull Servants, one Lady In Wight, one Wightprince, one King of the Skull Servants, and one Wightprincess in my graveyard. Perfect_.

"I'm sorry that this duel is so short, Mai, but it was fun while it lasted."

"And what makes you so sure it's over?" She arched one perfect eyebrow at him.

"I summon King of the Skull Servants in attack mode." The cloaked skeleton sparkled to life, bony jaw clattering with disturbing realism. "And because I have six cards in the graveyard that identify as Skull Servant, that means he has six thousand attack points."

"No way!" Joey exclaimed, caught off-guard by the card's power.

"Attack her Amazoness Paladin!"

"Not so fast! I activate my trap-card, Mirror Force, which destroys your skeleton king."

Bakura's smirk turned into a sneer as his monster was blasted by it's own attack. Yugi and Seto exchanged a look of dubious concern.

"That's not Ryou," Marik murmured as he gazed at his friend with sad eyes, drawing his friends' attention.

"No, it's not."

Seto nodded concurrence with Yugi's words, then looked up at the femme fatale duelist.

"Be careful, Mai!" he called out. "Ryou's not himself right now!"

"If by 'not himself' you mean he's actually a competent duelist," Mai retorted dismissively, "Then yeah, he's not."

"Ya gotta listen to us, Mai!" Joey called out, Bakura's eyes now fixing on the blond and glaring daggers in his direction. "This duel isn't safe!"

"It's not anymore." Bakura finally dropped the act, any semblance of playfulness or innocence in his visage was gone as he straightened his posture and tilted his chin forwards, with the effect that he seemed to disdain everyone around him. "You've forced my hand." A bright light seemed to emanate from his chest momentarily as the dueling field was suddenly shrouded in thick dark clouds, the black fog curling around their legs like ghostly tentacles. "I  _was_  going to spare you, but now you know too much. I'll have to take this duel to the Shadow Realm."

"I thought we destroyed the Spirit of the Millennium Ring when we defeated him in Monster World." Yugi sounded both confused and disappointed.

"Apparently not." Seto wasn't surprised, though. Seth had known somehow that the evil spirit wasn't gone, so it was only a matter of time before he attacked again.

"Do you think Mai has a chance of beating him?" Yugi asked, violet eyes shadowed with hope.

"Do I think Mai has a chance at defeating an evil spirit with a magical artifact at a trading card game?" Seto gave Yugi a dubious expression. "I think the spirit has a clear advantage in this situation."

The sound of a small sigh caught Seto's attention, and he looked up to see Marik gazing at Mai's opponent with a melancholy expression, wringing his hands anxiously.

Marik must have known.

"I don't know what you're going on about," Mai shouted, looking quite serious. "But if you're done speaking nonsense, I'll take my turn now."

"Go ahead." Bakura grinned like a feral cat. "But be prepared for a duel like nothing you've ever seen!"

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	12. Revelation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back, baby!

"Seto, what's wrong with Ryou?" Mokuba reached out to clasp his brother's hand, frightened confusion playing across his features.

"He's… not himself right now," Seto began, a little uncertain how best to phrase this.

"Someone else is controlling him," Ishizu interjected gently, giving Mokuba a look of sympathy. "Someone evil. But the real him is still there, deep inside."

"How can we make the evil one go away?" Mokuba asked quietly.

"By beating him at his own game." The answer was provided by Seto this time, whose expression was so serious that Mokuba could barely recall seeing him look like that before.

On Seto's other side, Duke was frowning, eyes fixed on the duel in concentration, but his eyes betrayed his dissatisfaction with Seto's explanation. He'd have to ask Seto for more details later.

Mai fought hard, but the duel was as good as lost the moment it became a Shadow Game. Part of her strategy was to fill her side of the field with monsters that supported each other through card effects, but when each monster was fueled through her own life energy, and she began to tire just from the effort of keeping them on the field for as long as she did. Not that they were doing her much good with Dark Door on her opponent's side of the field, limiting her ability to attack. Meanwhile, Bakura was filling his graveyard with Skull Servants and Wight monsters, boosting the strength of his King of the Skull Servants cards. Mai could destroy some of his monsters, but his clever strategy, which utilized card effects and spell cards more than anything else, allowed to cycle cards out of his deck to the graveyard to banishment to his hand to the field. His undead deck refused to be vanquished. When the Spirit of the Millennium Ring drew Dark Hole, it was truly over. Without Mai's Amazoness monsters to protect her, and without any of her trap cards remaining after he'd nullified and destroyed them all, she was left completely vulnerable to his attack.

Mai's piercing scream of pain rang in the spectators' ears. None of them would forget that sound anytime soon.

When the smoke and shadows from the duel arena were cleared, swept away by the wind, it was clear to all that Mai was laying unconscious on the floor, his life-point counter at zero.

"Ryou Bakura is the winner! Mai Kujaku has been eliminated!" Roland announced, the Spirit of the Millennium Ring standing cool and collected with his arms crossed, a misplaced smirk on his face.

"Mai!" Joey was the first one to recover himself enough to call her name. He rushed towards the platform and hauled himself onto it first, Marik, Yugi, and Anzu right behind him, Ishizu hanging back with a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. Marik had rushed forward too, but he'd approached Bakura, stopping a little ways in front of him. They didn't speak to each other as far as Seto could tell, but when Bakura turned around to return inside, Marik followed after him. Ishizu let out a quiet sigh beside the brunette, as if she'd expected that.

"Is this what you wanted, Noah?" Seto accused, glaring daggers at his adversary who'd watched the grim duel play out with apathetic curiosity at best and sadistic glee at worst.

"I wanted the strongest duelists in Japan to gather and compete to see who was the best," was Noah's snidely insincere response. "Anyone who loses isn't worthy of moving forward in the competition."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about," Seto muttered, his voice low and angry as Joey lifted Mai off the ground, holding her securely in his arms. The blond cast a venomous glare in the CEO's direction before turning to re-enter the blimp with his friends. First things first, they needed to take care of Mai. He'd kick Noah Kaiba's ass later.

"Duke, can you please take Mokuba inside with the others?" Seto asked his friend without breaking eye contact with Noah.

"Sure thing. C'mon kiddo." Duke used a purposefully cheerful tone for Mokuba's sake as they left the open-air arena, leaving Noah, Seto, and Ishizu behind.

"You need to land the blimp." Seto approached the executive, Ishizu shadowing him. He hadn't asked her to stay, but he was glad that she had. She seemed to understand the Millennium Items better than he did, and if Noah Kaiba had the Millennium Eye, he was infinitely more dangerous now than he'd been in the past.

"Why should I do that?" Noah retorted like the spoiled brat he was. "It would disrupt our schedule. We're on a set course that doesn't leave room for unnecessary stops."

"You're messing with human lives again, Noah." Seto stopped when he was a few meters in front of the other teen. "This isn't going to end well for you."

"Do you think you're going to stop me?"

"I know I will. I've beaten you before, and I'll beat you again."

"You cheated last time," Noah sneered, his mask of composure slipping to reveal his nasty nature. "This time, there won't be any way for you to cheat, and I'll be the champion again."

"What are you trying to gain from this?" Seto pressed. He needed to understand why Noah couldn't leave him alone.

"Power." Noah stepped forward now, until they were standing face to face and Seto could see the Millennium Eye glinting between the strands of hair covering one side of the teen's face. Now there was no doubt about his powers. "That's always what this has been about, Seto."

The brunette could feel Seth stirring in his mind, throwing up a shield of memories as he'd done with Pegasus. Seth had been on high alert this whole time, but only now was he actively defending Seto's mind. He must have sensed an imminent attack, then. If Noah thought he could read Seto's mind so easily, then he was in for a surprise.

"You're never going to get over the fact that I'm better than you. How childish." Seto had barely finished the last word when Ishizu's hand was on his back, grabbing his coat and jerking him backwards just as Noah swung a fist in his direction—and missed. Seto stumbled a little, but quickly regained his footing, Ishizu's hand pressing flat between his shoulder blades to help steady him, then staying there.

"You!" Noah pointed to Ishizu accusitorily, even as she stood half behind Seto. "What are you—" Then it dawned on him just who this woman was. "You're that girl from Egypt, aren't you?"

"She has a name!" Seto snapped, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. "Not that it's any of _your_  business." Seto felt Ishizu's hand on his fist, her touch light but firm. She didn't want him to fight. "Tch. There's no reasoning with you. Let's get out of here."

As Seto turned away from Noah, he felt Ishizu's hands release him. She followed him closely, though, as they left him behind and entered the elevator. When the door closed, Seto could feel some of the tension leave his shoulders. Seth settled down too, residing in Seto's mind like a powerful serpent patrolling the perimeters of his mind, ready to strike at any perceived threat. He was restless, and understandably so.

"There _are_  doctors on board," Ishizu told him calmly. "If the others haven't asked the crew about medical attention yet, then we could probably find them ourselves."

Seto nodded slightly to acknowledge her statement, still staring at the closed elevator doors as the carriage descended.

"Why did Marik follow the Spirit of the Ring?"

"Because Marik is loyal to Ryou. He wants to protect his friend's body because he doesn't trust the Spirit to care for it." Ishizu bowed her head a little, something Seto saw out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look at her and saw the concern creasing his forehead as she worried for her little brother.

"Marik will be alright," Seto assured, his tone cool but kind. "He's not alone; he has all of us to look out for him." Ishizu lifted her head to smile gratefully. "You're not alone either, you know." Seto hesitated, looking away awkwardly as he tried to find the right words. "Yugi and Joey and the others... when they make a new friend, they don't ever let you go. They'll always be there to help you, whether you want it or not." He knew that from experience. "So, trust them. They won't let you down." He was speaking in the third person, separating himself from them because he still didn't perceive himself to be part of a group. But everything he attributed to them, he meant for himself, too.

"Thank you, Seto." Ishizu reached out and gave his hand a soft, momentary squeeze. "I really appreciate that." She released his hand before Seto could properly reciprocate the hold.

"More people are going to get hurt, won't they?" he asked quietly as the elevator slowed to a stop.

"It's unavoidable, as far as I can tell," she answered soberly. They doors opened and they left the small compartment, heading in the direction of the infirmary. There they find Mai, everyone else with her except for Marik and the Spirit. Yugi was in the process of explaining to Duke about the Shadow Game and the Millennium Items.

"So that's how Pegasus was able to beat me in a duel," Duke mused, just having learned about the powers of the Millennium Eye.

"Noah Kaiba has the Eye now," Seto informed them with an air of authority.

"Does he just have it, or is he, you know... using it?" Anzu asked hesitantly, disgusted by the idea of someone shoving a foreign object into their eye socket for the sole purpose of gaining magical powers.

"He's using it alright. I saw it just now." Ishizu nodded in affirmation as Anzu shuddered.

"I don't know how much he knows about the Eye's powers," Ishizu said. "But I think it's safe to assume that he doesn't know the full extent of what it's capable of."

"How's Mai?" Seto asked, aiming his question at Joey, who hadn't looked up from the unconscious duelist since the brunette had entered the room.

"The doctor said there isn't anything they can do," Joey answered, more serious than most people ever heard him. "She's in a coma, so all we can do is wait."

"That's not _all_  we can do," Yugi reminded Joey with a reassuring smile. "We'll duel our best so that we can defeat the Spirit of the Millennium Ring and free her soul from the Shadow Realm."

Joey nodded, though he still seemed dissatisfied. Seto exchanged a look with Ishizu, a clear question in his eyes.

Where is Marik?


End file.
